K.J 



Ilibramofcui\gress.# 

NITED STATliS OF AMERICA. 



'N^*^- 






^\M.> 



THE 



E(OMAmBIS^ 5 



A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND MANAGE- 
MENT OF 

APPLE AND OTHER FRUIT TREES, 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE DISEASES TO WHICH THEY ARE 
LIABLE, AND THEIR REMEDIES. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

THE MOST APPROVED METHOD 



MANUFACTURING AND PRESERVING CIDER. 



COMPILED 



FROM THE LATEST AND MOST APPROVED AUTHORITIES, AND ADAPT- 
ED TO THE USE OF AMERICAN FARMERS. 

1 " ! 



BY JAMES T|,HACHER, M. D. 

Fellow of the American Academy of Arts ami Sciences, and of the Massachusetts Medical 
Society^ &c, ^c. 



"Nature, in her teaching, speaks in very intelligible language, and .ibaHangiiage is con- 
veye<l by experience and observation. " - ^' ' 



BOSTON : £^ 
PRINTED AN'D PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH W. INGRAHAM. 
1822. 



DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WiTi 

DISTRICT clerk's OFFICE. 

Be it remembered, That on the third day of January, A. D. 1822, and 
in the forty-sixth year of the Independence of the United States of Ame- 
rica, Joseph W. Ingraham, of the said district, has deposited in this office the 
title of a book, tiie right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words 
following, to wit : 

" The American Orchardist ; or a practical treatise on the culture and 
management of apple and other fruit trees, with observations on the diseases 
to which they are liable, and their remedies. To which is added the most 
approved method of manufacturing and preserving cider. Compiled from 
the latest and most approved authorities, and adapted to the use of Ameri- 
can farmers. By James Thacher, M. D. Fellow of the American Aca- 
demy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Massachusetts Medical Society, &c. 
Sit. ' Nature in her teaching, speaks in very intelligible language, and that 
language is conveyed by experience and observation.' ^ 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, 
"An act for the encouragement of learning, by- securing the copies of Maps, 
Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during 
the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled " An act sup- 
plementary to an act, entitled, An act for the encouragement of learn- 
ing, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to tlie authors 
and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned ; "and 
extending the benefits thereof to the arts of Designing, Engraving, and 
Etching, Historical, and other Prints." 

JNO. W. DAVIS, 
Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. 



^^'^ 






TO THE 

PRESIDENT AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE MASSACHU- 
SETTS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

GENTLEMEN, 

Jr RESUMING upon your acquiescence, I introduce to your no- 
tice this little practical treatise upon one of the most interesting 
and pleasing branches pertaining to the science of agriculture. 
The utility of a cheap publication of this kind, for the information 
and encouragement of our farmers, is unquestionable. If this 
humble attempt should meet your approbation, and be found to 
possess a degree of merit calculated to co-operate with your zea- 
lous eflforts to promote agricultural pursuits and improvements in 
our country, a knowledge of your character is an ample pledge 
that you will not withhold your patronage and favour. If, how- 
ever, it shall appear that I have subjected myself to the accusa- 
tion of having stepped beyond the limits, within which my ac- 
tual knowledge should be confined, then will a consciousness of 
laudable motives, of assiduity and fidelity in the collection of ex- 
perimental facts, remain as my only consolation. I am not unap- 
prized of the almost invincible prejudice, which prevails among 
our farmers, against what they term " book-farming," " book- 
knowledge,** &c. &c. ; and the anecdote is fresh in my memory, 
Qf an honest farmer, who, on being inquired of Why his neigl^- 



]Y DEDICATION. 

hour's farm Ttas not more productive, replied, " because he has 
booked it to death." These prejudices exist chietly among those, 
irhose minds are unenlightened, and views unexpanded by that 
useful knowledge, which is only to be acquired by reading. It 
must be conceded that almost all improvements are derived from 
the records of practice and observation ; and when we have rea- 
son and experience to support, and plain facts to confirm, we 
may become less tenacious of the rules of our fathers, believing 
that it may be the reserved privilege of the children, to acquire 
the skill of producing two spires of grass where their fathers pro- 
duced but one. It is a remarkable fact that the lirst planters 
bequeathed to their posterity a greater number of orchards, in 
proportion to their population, than are now to be found in the 
old colony ; and it is no less notorious that the children have 
substituted a poisonous liquor for the salutary beverage, which al- 
most exclusively cheered the hearts of their virtuous ancestors. 
The views of men are often materially affected through mere in- 
dolence of temper, no less than through the cloud of prejudice. 
Averse to the labour of reading and inquiry, they adhere perti- 
naciously to the routine of their predecessors, and treat with equal 
contempt the lessons of experience, and all suggestions of im- 
provement. It is not, however, desirable that former modes ot 
practice in husbandry should be abandoned until it shall be 
incontestably proved, that a system more adapted to our circum- 
stances, and in all respects of superiour utility, can be found- 
ed on the surest basis. It is not to be required of our farmers to 
subject themselves to the expense and uncertainty of novel expe- 
riments ; but he who possesses capital and leisure, and who, in 
the spirit of investigation, shall put in execution a hundred new 
projects, although in ten only shall he be successful in the acqui- 
sition of useful knowledge, will be entitled to publiek praise and 
respect. These pages contain no speculative or visionary pro- 
jects, nor recommend any untried experiments. Although a por- 



DEDICATION. V 

tion of information is derived from European authors, no inconsi- 
derable part of it has been collected from the practical cxperi, 
jnents and observations of our own countrymen. There is, there- 
fore, no part of this production but what may be adopted as ap- 
plicable to our climate, and calculated to promote the interests 
of the cultivators of our soil. The knowledge respecting the 
proper management of fruit trees is contained in numerous vo- 
lumes, and in incidental papers, published in periodical works. 
My object has been to collate and embrace all the principal cir- 
cumstances relative to the subject, and condense the whole into 
a small compass, that shall be accessible both to the pecuniary 
means of all, and to the intellectual powers of the most ordinary 
capacity. The authorities to which I am chiefly indebted, are 
the several encyclopedias, Forsyth on Fruit Trees, and the valua- 
ble periodical publications of your society, and various other si- 
milar productions. If, in a few instances, it shall appear that I 
have employed borrowed language without marks of quotation, 
my apology is, that I have copied from minutes collected at va- 
rious times, without reference to the source whence derived; not 
that 1 would wittingly pilfer the cultivated fruit of others, and 
impose it upon my guests as the result of my own industry. 

Nothing can be more irksome to a reflecting mind than a state 
of inactivity and idleness. I have devoted some of my leisure hours 
to the subject of this treatise, and have derived from the employ- 
ment both recreation and improvement. Should the book share 
the fate of many others, and pass into neglect and oblivion, it 
will not be a cause of chagrin ; but if it should be so fortunate as 
to rise into popularity, and arrest the attention of our farmers, 
who may be assured that a little " book-knowledge'' will do 
them no harm, it will be a source of the highest gratification. 



yi DEDICATIOJV. 

The Massachusetts Agricultural Society, through your agency, 
gentlemen, has already exerted a happy influence, tending to 
eradicate former prejudices, and greatly to ameliorate the condi- 
tion of our husbandry in its various branches. 

With the view of encouraging a familiarity with agricultural 
books among our farmers, permit me to suggest the expediency 
of supplying our several county societies with the Massachusetts 
Agricultural Repository, on the most favourable terms for distri- 
bution ; and also of paying, in certain proportions, your annual 
premiums in cheap books on agricultural subjects. 

That you may long continue to enjoy the satisfaction to be de- 
rived from your patriotick labours, is the fervent desire of 
Your humble and obedient servant, 

JAMES THACHER, 
Plymouth, July, 1821. 



nECOMMENDATION. 



THE gentlemen who sign the following Recommendation are officers 
of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, although they do not sub- 
scribe as such ; but cheerfully consent, as individuals, to honour the publica- 
tion with the following testimony of their approbation. 

Boston, September 10, 1821. 
W E have perused, at the request of Dr. Thacher, his Treatise on the 
Culture of Fruit Trees, and the Art of Making Cider ; and, although we 
cannot hope that our opinions will have any great weight with the publick^ 
yet, as the author is desirous that we should express them, we have no hesi- 
tation in saying, that it appears to us an excellent compendium of all that 
has been written on the subject — comprising, within a moderate compass, 
the result of the observations of the experienced cultivators of Europe, and 
of this country — with many original suggestions of his own — and we believe 
that such a work will be of great value to those, who wish to obtain a 
knowledge of this branch of agriculture, but who cannot have access to the 
original sources, from which, with great labour, and, as we believe, good 
judgment, this compilation has been formed. 

[Names of the gentlemen who, as individuals, sign the above recom- 
mendation ; with the addition of their titles, as copied from the Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural Journal.] 

AARON DEXTER, M.D., President. 

SAMUEL VV. POMEROY, Esq., First Vice-President. 

THOMAS L. WINTHROP, Esq., Second Vice-President. 

JOHN PRINCE, Esq., Treasurer. 

JOHN LOWELL, Esq., Corresponding Secretary. 

Hon. RICHARD SULLIVAN, Recording Secretary. 

Hon. PETER C. BROOKS, ] 

Hon. JOHN WELLES, ! 

Hon.JOSIAH QUINCY, I 

S. G. PERKINS, Esq., j" Trustees. 

GORHAM PARSONS, Esq., | 
E. HERSEY DERBY, Esq., j 



J. HK following valuable remarks by (wo of the gentlemen whose 
names arc sulijoined to the preceding recoiumendation, were not received 
till after the printing of the volume Mas completed. 



" I RKCRET that ! had not seen the MS. as I should have taken the 
libertj' of recommending to the notice of Dr. Thacher, the best of all the 
cherries — the Black Tartarian, introduced by Prince Potemkin, from Pon- 
tus to it Pclersburgli, soon after the conquest of the Crimea, and brought 
to London by a Brilish botanist, in 1796 ; from whence my friend, the 
late Eben. Preble, Esq. imported a tree some years after, at five times 
the price of common sorts, whiclj he planted in his garden in Boston, 
but lemoving it the second year, to make room for a building, check- 
ed the bearing, and 1 was enabled by a cutting he had previously given 
me, to produce the first dessert of thie noble fruit, in the United States. 
It is a constant, full bearer ; succeeds better by grafting than any other 
sorts ; is of larger size than any ; and may be said to be in eating from 
the time it is two thirds grown, till some time after fully ripe ; and as 
evidence of superiour excellence, has generally brought double the price 
of the best black hearts in the Boston market." S. W. Pomeroy. 



" Permit me to suggest that so far as my experience goes, I have 
found the first week of September the best time for budding young peach 
stocks. The bud is not so subject to gum at tliis as an earlier season. 
[See page 40.] 

" While upon the subject of decortication of apple trees, [See page 80,] 
3"ou migiit, I think, add, that the operation may be performed witli equal 
i?uccess on old pear trees. Dr. Holyoke, of Salem, informed me a few 
years since, that he had made the experiment on an old pear tree in his 
3ard that had ceased bearing, and restored to it its wonted fecundity. 

" I have noted your observations on grafting pears on quince stocks, 
[pages 33 and 180.] I have a number of trees of (his description, and 
some of them quite large and extremely vigorous and healthy. They 
produce annually in great abundance, and some of the largest and finest 
pears of their kind which 1 have ever seen are produced on those trees. 
But the stock should be from what is called the Portugal quince, which 
groAvs as fast as the natural or free stock ; and the pears put on them 
should always be of the soft flesh, or buttery kind ; the breaking pears 
do not answer so well on this, as on the free stock. In France all their 
finest pears, of the buttery kind, are raised on (he Portugal quince 
stocks." S. G. Perkijvs. 



ERRATA. 

Page 60, line 3 and 4, for John Wells, esquire, of Dorchester, read ho- 
nourable John ^Velles, of Dorchester, one of the trustees of the Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural Society. 

Page 130, line 15, for Pomone d'Apis, read Pomme d'Apis. 



TH£ 



APPLE TREES. 

Among the numerous varieties of fruit-bearing 
trees, cultivated in our country, the apple is, con- 
fessedly, of superiour importance and utility. Whe- 
ther considered as an esculent for the dessert, as 
an article for culinary purposes, or as affording a 
pleasant and wholesome beverage, this fruit is not 
to be surpassed in excellence. If the productions 
of tropical climates are valued for their grateful 
and delicious qualities, the apple, more permanent 
and durable, and possessing nutritive and salubrious 
properties, is incomparably of the greatest estima- 
tion. From a natural and happy gradation, this 
fruit attains to full growth, in successive order, 
during summer and autumn ; and, acquiring greater 
perfection and maturity after gathering, it may, by 
proper care, be preserved for the table, or for cu- 
linary use, until the return of the flowering season. 
The soil and climate of the United States are ad- 
mirably adapted to the growth of the apple tree, 
except in certain districts in the south, where the 
land is level and sandy, and the atmosphere replete 
with humidity. Even the colder regions of Maine 
^lanually furnish excellent apples for the Boston 



10 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

market. Wc have an ample variety of apples, 
many of which are allowed to be of superiour 
quality as to size, beauty, and flavour. Notwith- 
standing, however, these advantages, and the im- 
mense value of apple orchards, their cultivation 
has received but madequate attention from the 
farmers of our country. It must be confessed, as 
a notorious truth, that an orchard, planted and cul- 
tivated in the most advantageous manner in point 
of beauty, profit, and convenience, is scarcely to be 
found in the sphere of our observation. The most 
palpable neglect prevails in respect of proper prun- 
ing, cleaning, and manuring round the roots of trees, 
and of perpetuating choice fruit, by engrafting from 
it on other stocks. Old orchards are, in general, 
in a state of rapid decay; and it is not uncommon 
to see valuable and thrifty trees exposed to the 
depredations of cattle and sheep, and their foliage 
annoyed by caterpillars and other destructive in- 
sects. In fact, we know of no branch of agricul- 
ture so unaccountably and so culpably disregarded. 
If it be objected, that the profit will not remunerate 
for the labour and expense of cultivation, the obvi- 
ous reply is, let the experiment be fairly tried, in 
a few instances, and the result will soon correct the 
erroneous impression, and stimulate to greater at- 
tention to the subject. It may, witl,i propriety, be 
affirmed, that a judiciously-cultivated orchard of 
select fruit, if situated at a convenient distance from 
a large town or village, w^ould yield an annual profit 
equal to any production of the industrious husband- 
man. An instance has been adduced, in the town 
of Dorchester, a few years since, of one hundred 
and sixty barrels of apples being produced from 
less than two acres, the estimated value of which, 
including the grass mowed under the trees, is three 
hundred dollars per acre. In what branch of cul- 
ture can the husbandman realize a more ample and 
gratifying reward for his labour and attention ? 



OP FRUIT TREES. 11 

It is a circumstance encouraging to the cultivator, 
that, " in addition to the usual markets, a very con- 
siderable export has taken place lately to Europe, 
and that the flavour of our apples is highly esti- 
mated there." In every rural establishment, a fruit 
orchard should be considered an indispensable ap- 
pendage, as a source of real emolument, and as 
contributing to health, pleasure, and recreation. 
It will be conceded, that, in the whole department 
of rural economy, there is not a more noble, inter- 
esting, and beautiful exhibition, than a fruit orchard, 
sytematically arranged, while clothed with nature's 
foliage, and decorated with variegated blossom* 
perfuming the air, or when bending under a load of 
ripe fruit of many varieties. It is among the ex- 
cellences of a fruit orchard, that it affords a salu- 
brious beverage, an adequate supply of which would 
have a happy tendency to diminish, if not supersede, 
the consumption of ardent spirits, so destructive to 
the health and moral character of our citizens. 
" The palate," says Mr. Knight, an English horti- 
culturalist, " which relishes fruit, is seldom pleased 
with strong fermented liquors; and, as feeble causes, 
continually acting, ultimately produce extensive ef- 
fects, the supplying the publick with fruit, at a cheap 
rate, would have a tendency to operate favourably, 
both on the physical and moral health of the peo- 
ple." It is presumable, that the period is not 
far distant, when the subject of horticulture will 
receive its merited attention, and the value and 
utility of fruit orchards be duly appreciated by all 
ranks of our citizens; and it will be to me a source 
of pride and satisfaction, should these pages con- 
tribute, in any degree, to the promotion of the de- 
sirable object. The most eligible and approved 
method of propagating fruit trees, some account of 
the numerous insects which infest and prey upon 
their vitals, with the various diseases to which they 
are liable, and which prove fatal to their existence, 



12 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

and the best adapted remedies, will constitute the 

J:)rincipal topicks of this undertaking. While phi- 
osophers pride themselves upon, vain speculation^ 
the practical farmer will be contented with plain 
facts, from whatever source derived. Leaving to 
others, therefore, the task of wandering in the per- 
plexing mazes of theory, sutiice it here to excite, 
m the orchardist and farmer, the spirit of practical 
activity, and to stimulate by the lessons of attentive 
and intelligent men ; for " nature, in her teaching, 
speaks in very intelligible language, and that lan- 
guage is conveyed by experience and observation.'* 
No apology will be urged for any inelegance of 
style, as perspicuity and brevity are conceived to 
be more acceptable requisites, in the view of the 
respectable cultivators of our soil, for whose us« 
this little work is intended. 

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF APPLES. 

" In diseases of the breast, says Dr.Willich (Dom. 
Ency.) such as catarrhs, coughs, consumptions, «fcc. 
they are of considerable service. For these bene- 
ficial purposes, however, they ought not to be 
eaten raw, but either roasted, stewed, or boiled. 
They may also be usefully employed in decoctions, 
which, if drank plentifully, tend to abate febrile 
heat, as well as to relieve painful strictures in pec- 
toral complaints. With regard to their sensible 
properties, apples have been divided into spicy, 
acidulated, and watery. To the first class belong 
the various species of rennet, which possess a most 
delicate flavour, contain the least proportion of 
water, and, on account of their vinous nature, are 
not apt to excite flatulency. Pippins, on the con- 
trary, though aflfording more nutriment than the 
former, are more fibrous, and, consequently, require 
a more vigorous stomach to digest them; hence 
they should be ranked under the second class. 
Lastly, those sweet and tender apples which are 



DP PRUIT TREES. 13 

very juicy and palatable, are the least fit to be 
eaten in a raw state, unless with the addition of 
bread or biscuit. When baked, or dried in the 
open air, they make an excellent substitute for rai- 
sins or plums, in puddings, pies, and other dishes 
prepared of flour. Sour apples may be much im- 
proved, both in taste and quality, by either baking 
or digesting them in a close vessel, by steam, over 
a slow fire. Thus the saccharine principle is dis- 
engaged, and they undergo a speedy and complete 
change." The honourable T. Pickering, in his ad- 
dress to the agricultural society, Essex county, 
expresses himself in the following language : " After 
providing a due proportion of apples for the table 
and the ordinary purposes of cookery, I do not 
hesitate to express my opinion, that, for all other 
uses, sweet apples are entitled to the preference. 
The best cider I ever tasted, in this country, was 
made wholly of sweet apples. They afford also a 
nourishing food to man and all domestick animals. 
What furnishes a more delicious repast than a rich 
sweet apple baked and eaten in milk ? I recollect 
the observation made to me by an observing farmer, 
before the American revolution, that nothing would 
fatten cattle faster than sweet apples. Mentioning 
this, a few years since, to a gentleman of my ac- 
quaintance in an adjoining state, he informed me, 
that he was once advised to give sweet apples to a 
sick horse. Happening then to have them in plen- 
ty, the horse was served with them, and he soon 
got well, and, continuing to be fed with them, he 
fattened faster than any other horse that he had 
ever owned that was fed with any other food. 
Mentioning to the same gentleman, what I had long 
before heard, that a good molasses might be made 
of sweet apples, he confirmed the fact by an in- 
stance within his own knowledge, &;c. &;c. The pro- 
cess is very simple. The apples being ground, and 
the juice expressed at the cider mills, it is immedi- 



14 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ately boiled ; and the scum being taken off, the boiHng 
is continued, until the liquor acquires the consistence 
of molasses." 

Mr. Kni2;ht, an English gentleman, in his treatise 
on the apple and pear, says that the juice of these 
fruits might be used with great advantage on long 
voyages. He has frequently reduced it by boiling 
to the consistence of a weak jelly, and in this state 
it has remained several years without the slightest 
apparent change, though it has been intentionally 
exposed to much variation of temperature. A large 
quantity of the inspissated juice would occupy but 
a very small space ; and the addition of a few 
pounds of it to a hogshead of water would proba- 
bly at any time form a good liquor similar tjo cider 
or perry. It might also, he thinks, be used to sup- 
ply the place of rob of lemons and oranges, and 
might be obtained at a much lower price. 

I avail myself of the following appropriate sen- 
tence, in the language of one who has long been 
eminently distinguished for his numerous patriotick 
and amiable virtues.* 

" When we consider the various manners in 
which fruits are beneficial ; when we recollect the 
pleasure they afford to the senses, and the chaste 
and innocent occupation which they give in their 
cultivation ; when we consider the reputation 
which they communicate to a country in the eye 
of strangers, especially as affording a test of its 
climate and industry ; when we remember the 
importance of improving the beverage which they 
are intended to supply ; when it is calculated un- 
der how many sohd forms they may be exported 
(as dried, baked, and preserved, as well as in their 
natural state ;) and lastly, when we reflect upon 

* See a letter on fruit trees, by a member of the Kennebeck 
agricultural society, published in papers on agriculture. Mass. 
•ociety, 1804. 



^ OP FRUIT TREES. 15 

the utility of giving to our rural labours a thought- 
ful turn, which is the best substitute now left, after 
having quitted our primeval state ; I say, when we 
consider these things, it will appear that the sub- 

i'ect of fruits, which were the first earthly gift of 
'rovidence to man in his more favoured state, may 
well continue to merit both the publick and indi- 
vidual attention." 



^ 



ORIGINAL STOCK. 

It is the opinion of botanists, " that the wilding, 
or crab-apple of the woods and hedges, is the origi- 
nal kind from the seeds of which the apple now 
cultivated was first obtained. The varieties of 
this species are multiplied to some hundreds, in 
different places, all having been fifst accidentally 
procured from the seed or kernels of the fruit, and 
then increased by grafting upon crabs or other 
kinds of apple stocks." (Dom. Ency.) The crab is 
still considered as a proper stock to receive the 
grafts of the more valuable varieties, and is even 
preferred by some cultivators as being more hardy, 
better able to endure cold and coarse land; and 
they also take firmer root, are of more rapid growth, 
and make larger trees. 

This tree may be found in forests, and other un- 
cultivated places. Its stems and brandies are 
armed with sharp thorns, and its fruit is sr/iall, and 
so extremely acrid and unpleasant, that it is not 
edible in its natural state. The following descri|> 
tion, by Mr. William Bartram, is copied from 
Mease's edition of the domestick encyclopedia. 
" The pyrus coronaria^ or native crab apple ofJVortli 
America, is not eaten, except wheu preserved in 
sugar, and in this state, they are deservedly esteem- 
ed as a great delicacy. The fruit is flattish, above 
one inch in diameter, yellow when ripe, or of the 
colour- of polished brass, and pg^sesses an agre^a* 



/ 



16 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ble fragrancy. Perhaps no tree presents a more 
gaj appearance in the spring, when dressed in 
green, and with clusters of flowers of a most pleas- 
ing blush. The petals may be compared to flakes 
of white wax, faintly tinged with the finest car- 
mine ; though some trees have flowers of a damask 
rose colour." The honourable Timothy Pickering, 
from long experience, observes, " to bring an orchard 
as early as possible into profit, plant common wild 
trees, or what are commonly called crab apples, 
four or five years old. They should be cut down 
as soon as planted, and on their young shoots graft 
or inoculate such fruit as is desired. From this 
practice, more fruit will be obtained in ten years, 
than in the usual way in twenty years. Tlie wild 
tree, if grafted on its own stock, will come much 
earlier to bearing fruit, and it will be improved 
both in size and flavour." 



CULTIVATED OR SEEDLING STOCKS. 

When the crab stock cannot be procured in suf- 
ficient quantity for the purpose of propagation, it 
becomes necessary to resort to the expedient of 
culture from the seeds. Seedling stocks, which 
have a natural tendency to attain the full height of 
the species to be grafted on them, are generally 
denominatedjTrec stocks. Every planter who is so- 
licitous to keep an orchard well stocked with fruit 
trees, should cultivate in a nursery his own free 
stocks, and graft for himself, that he may realize 
all the advantages to be derived from a knowledge 
of the soil and the peculiar properties of his trees, 
and thereby avoid many impositions practised by 
ignorant and artful nursery-men. He will more- 
over be enabled to select such stocks for grafting, 
as experience shows to be best adapted to the soil 
and climate of his plantation, and which meet his 
own particular views. Trees raised from seed 



OF FRUIT TREES. 17 

rarely produce the same species of fruit with that 
from which the kernels were taken, yet they are 
well adapted as stocks for grafting, and it occasion- 
ally happens that a new and valuable variety is 
thus produced, either for cider, or for the dessert. 
An accurate observer, Mr. Joseph Cooper, of New 
Jersey, asserts, (Dom. Ency. Mease's edit.) that ex- 
perience, for more than fifty years, has convinced 
him, that, although seedlings from apples will scarce- 
ly ever produce fruit exactly similar to the origi- 
nal, yet many of them will produce excellent fruit : 
some will even be superiour to the apples from 
which the seeds are taken. This fact has led him 
to plant seeds from the largest and best kinds of 
fruit, and from trees of a strong and rapid growth, 
and let all the young trees bear fruit before graft- 
ing, which produce uncommon strong shoots or a 
large rich-looking leaf. He has seldom known 
them fail of bearing fruit having some good quality ; 
at all events they make a stock to receive the 
grafts of any good kind which may present itself. 

BEST ADAPTED SOIL. 

The apple tree will thrive and flourish in many 
different sorts of soil ; but a dry friable loam should 
probably be preferred, as too much moisture is 
knoAvn to be injurious to the roots. Such soil as 
produces good crops of corn or grass will, in general, 
afford the requisite and best adapted nutriment to 
apple or pear trees. The soil should not only be 
rich, but have a good depth, not less perhaps than 
two or three feet. It has been remarked as a fact, 
that, in each particular place, certain kinds of apples 
have been observed to succeed better than other 
kinds ; and, according to the observations of the ho- 
nourable Timothy Pickering, many different sorts 
will flourish on an acre of ground, when the same 
number of one sort would starve. When, there- 
3 



18 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

fore, the cultivator has discovered the varieties most 
congenial to the soil and situation he occupies, It 
should be his endeavour to encourage them, by mul- 
tiplying the grafts on his unproductive trees, or by 
forming new additional trees by grafting on other 
stocks. 



PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES. 

The apple tree does not enjoy indefinite longevi- 
ty. Each species has its periods of infancy, youth, 
maturity, and decrepit age; and, in process of time, 
it is totally annihilated; nor is it in the power of art 
to protract its existence beyond its limited duration. 
Hence we frequently hear the complaint, that many 
varieties of apple, formerly held in high estimation, 
are no longer to be obtained, having entirely run out, 
as it is termed. The seeds of apples, however, contain 
the germ of an Infinite variety of fruit. New vari- 
eties, and some of excellent quality, are continually 
produced from seeds. The famous winter pippin 
was the spontaneous production from a seed at 
Newtown, Long Island. But there is no dependence 
upon obtaining a particular variety by planting the 
seeds. " A hundred seeds of the golden pippin will 
all produce fine large-leaved apple trees, bearing 
fruit of considerable size ; but the tastes and colours 
of the apple from each will be dltferent, and none will 
be the same in kind with those of the pippin itself. 
Some will be sweet, some bitter, some sour, some 
mawkish, some aromatick, some yellow, some green, 
some red, some streaked." The seeds for planting, 
should always be selected from the most highly cul- 
tivated fruit, and the fairest and ripest specimen of 
such variety. In soiyie instances, a new and valua- 
ble variety may thus be obtained, and the seedlings 
will afford some Indication of their future produce, 
even before they attain to their bearing state. The 
larger and thicker the leaves of a seedling, and the 



OF FRUIT TREES. 1^ 

more expanded its blossoms, the more it is likely to 
produce a good variety of fruit. Short-leaved trees 
should never be selected, for these approach near- 
er to the original standard ; whereas the other 
qualities indicate the influence of cultivation. Eve- 
ry fruit tree must attain to a certain age before it 
can bear fruit. An apple tree from the seed re- 
quires to be twelve or fifteen years old before it 
will produce fruit in perfection ; but a method will 
be hereafter described by which particular bran- 
ches may be forced to produce blossoms and fruit at 
an earlier period, and their quality sooner ascer- 
tained. 

The following are the sentiments of Mr. Knight, 
an experienced English horticulturalist,(Edin. Ency. 
Amer. edit, article horticulture.) All the exten- 
sions, he observes, by means of grafts and buds, 
must naturally partake of the qualities of the origi- 
nal. Where the original is old, there must be in- 
herent in the derivatives the tendency to decay in- 
cident to old age. It is not to be understood, how- 
ever, that a graft cannot survive the trunk from 
which it was taken : this would be deemed absurd. 
It may indeed be assumed as a fact, that a variety 
or kind of fruit, such as the golden pippin or the 
ribston, is equivalent only to an individual. By 
careful management the health and life of this in- 
dividual may be prolonged; and grafts placed on 
vigorous stocks and nursed in favourable situations, 
may long survive the parent plant or original un- 
graded tree. Still there is a progress to extinction, 
and the only renewal of an individual, the only true 
reproduction, is by seed. As the production of 
new varieties of fruit from the seed, is a subject 
which now very much occupies the attention of 
horticulturalists, it may be proper here to state the 
precautions adopted by Mr. Knight and others in 
conducting their trials. It is in the first place a 
rule to take the seeds of the finest kinds of Xruit, 



20 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

and from the ripest, larjE^est and best flavoured spe- 
cimens of that fruit. When Mr. K. wished to pro- 
cure some of the old apples in a healthy and reno- 
vated state, he adopted the following method : He 
prepared stocks of the best kind of apple that could 
be propagated by cuttings, and planted them against 
a south wall in a very rich soil. These were next 
year grafted with the stire, golden pippin, or some 
other fine old kind. In the course of the following 
winter the young trees were dug up, and the roots 
being retrenched, they were replanted in the same 
place. By this mode of treatment they were thrown 
into bearing at two years old. One or two ap- 
ples were allowed to remain on each tree: these 
consequently attained a large size, a more perfect 
maturity. The^ seeds from these fruits, Mr. K. then 
sowed, in the hope of procuring seedlings possessed 
of good or of promising qualities ; and these hopes 
have not been disappointed. In order to produce 
a hybrid variety, possessing perhaps a union of the 
good properties of two kinds, Mr. K. had recourse 
to the nice operation of dusting the pollen of one 
variety upon the pistils of another. He opened the 
unexpanded blossom, and cut away, with a pair of 
line pointed scissors, all the stamina, taking great 
care to leave the styles and stigmata uninjured. 
The fruit which resulted from this artificial impreg- 
nation were the most promising of any, and the seeds 
of these he did not fail to sow. Every seed, though 
taken from the same individual fruit, furnishes a 
distinct variety. These varieties, as might be an- 
ticipated, prove of very different merits ; but to 
form a general opinion of their value, it is not ne- 
cessary to wait till they produce fruit : an esti- 
mate may be formed, even during the first summer, 
by the resemblance the leaves bear to those of the 
highly cultivated or approved trees, or to those of 
the wild kinds. The more they approach to the 
former, the better is the prosnect. The leaves of 



OP FRUIT TREES. 21 

good kinds improve in character, becoming thicker, 
rounder, and more downy every season. The plants 
whose buds in the annual wood are full and promi- 
nent, are usually more productive than those whose 
buds are small and shrunk into the bark. But their 
future character, as remarked by Mr. K. must de- 
pend very much on the power the blossoms possess 
of bearing cold ; and this power is observed to vary 
in the different varieties, and can only be ascertain- 
ed by experience. Those which produce their 
leaves and blossoms early are preferable, because, 
although more exposed to injury by frosts, they are 
less liable to the attacks of caterpillars. It is also to 
be observed, that even after a seedling tree has be- 
gun to produce fruit, the quality of this has a ten- 
dency to improve as the tree itself becomes strong- 
er and approaches maturity ; so that if a fruit pos- 
sess any promising qualities at first, great improve- 
ment may be expected in succeeding years. 

A precaution is suggested, by the honourable T. 
Pickering, that apple trees, bearing bad or ordinary 
fruit, should not be suffered to grow with those 
which bear fruit of a superiour quality. It is a fact, 
with which gardeners are familiar, that the blossoms 
of cucumbers will greatly injure the flavour of me- 
lons that grow near them ; and it is reasonable to 
suppose that fruits, while forming on the trees, are 
liable in like manner to suffer deterioration. The 
result of the following experiment would seem to 
strengthen the above conjectwe. The experiment, 
it is said, has in numerous instances succeeded, with- 
out a single failure. In an orchard, containing a great 
variety of apple trees, bearing sweet, and some 
very acrid fruit, and others partaking of both these 
properties, in the vernal season, when the trees 
are in full blossom, the pollen (or impregnating 
dust) was taken from one tree, (for example, v»^here 
the fruit is very sweet,) and deposited on the flow- 
ers of a particular branch of another tree, whose 



22 CULTURE' AND MANAGEMENT 

fruit is extremely acrid. The apples of that paf- 
ticular branch were found to combine these two 
properties for that season ; and by this simple pro- 
cess, the experimenter asserts, he can easily provide 
himself with apples, for that season, perfectly to 
his taste, which he considers a much more expedi- 
tious and equally as certain a process as that of 
grafting. 

An account of a singular apple tree, producing fruit of opposite 
qualities ; a part of the same apple being frequently sour, and 
the otlier sweet : in a letter from the reverend Peter Whitney, 
published in the memoirs of the American academy of arts and 
sciences, vol. i. 

" There is now growing, in an orchard lately 
belonging to my honoured father, the reverend 
Aaron Whitney, of Petersham, deceased, an apple 
tree very singular with respect to its fruit. The 
apples are fair, and when fully ripe, of a yellow 
colour, but evidently of different tastes — sour and 
sweet. The part which is sour is not very tart, 
nor the other very sweet. Two apples, growing 
side by side on the same limb, will be often of 
these different tastes ; the one all sour, and the 
other all sweet. And, which is more remarkable, 
the same apple will frequently be sour one side, 
end, or part, and the other sweet, and that not in 
any order or uniformity ; nor is there any difference 
in the appearance of one part from the other. 
And as to the quantity, some have more of the acid 
and less of the sweet, and so vice versa. Neither 
are the apples, so different in their tastes, peculiar 
,to any particular branches, but are found promis- 
cuously, on every branch of the tree. The tree 
stands almost in the midst of a large orchard, in a 
rich and strong soil, and was transplanted there 
forty years ago. There is no appearance of the 
trunk, or any of the branches, having been engraft- 
ed or inoculated. It was a number of years, after 
it had borne fruit, before these different tastes 



OF FRUIT TREES. 2& 

were noticed ; but, since they were first discover- 
ed, which is about twenty years, there has been, 
constantly, the same variety in the apples. For 
the truth of what I have asserted, I can appeal to 
many persons of distinction, and of nice tastes, who 
have travelled a great distance to view the tree, 
and taste the fruit ; but to investigate the cause of 
an effect, so much out of the common course of na- 
ture, must, I think, be attended with difficulty. 
The only solution that I can conceive is, that the 
corcula, or hearts of two seeds, the one from a 
sour, the other from a sweet apple, might so in- 
corporate in the ground as to produce but one 
plant ; or that farina from blossoms of those oppo- 
^te qualities, might pass into and impregnate the 
same seed. If you should think the account 1 have 
given you of this singular apple tree will be ac- 
ceptable to the American academy, please to com- 
municate it. 

" I am, (fee. Peter Whitney." 

The above singular phenomenon may now be 
solved, since it is ascertained that the flowers may 
be impregnated by the pollen from other trees, 
and fruit of various qualities is thus obtained. The 
tree, described by the reverend gentleman, stood 
" almost in the middle of a large orchard." Will 
it be deemed an extravagant conjecture, that this 
tree had acquired a peculiar attachment, or attrac- 
tive power, by which this curious kind of fecunditv 
was effected r 



ENGRAFTED FRUITS NOT PERMANENT. 

Mr. Bucknal, an ingenious English writer, has 
favoured the publick with some liighly valuable 
and interesting observations on the subject of en- 
grafted fruit trees, of which the following is an ab- 
strafcfr, from Dom. Ency. Mease's edit, vol v. p. 102. 



24 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

Engrafted fruits, Mr. Bucknal asserts, are not 
permanent. Every one, of the least reflection, 
must see that there is an essential difTerence be- 
tween the power and energy of a seedling plant and 
the tree which is to be raised from cuttings or 
elongations. The seedling, is endued with the ener- 
gies of nature, while the graft, or scion, is nothing 
more than a regular elongation, carried, perhaps, 
through the several repeatings of the same varie- 
ty ; whereas the seed, from having been placed in 
the earth, germinates, and becomes a new plant, 
whenever nature permits like to produce like in 
vegetation. Engrafted fruits are doomed by na- 
ture to continue for a time, and then gradually de- 
cline, till at last the variety is totally lost, and soon 
forgotten, unless recorded by tradition, or in old 
publications. From the attention lately paid to 
the culture of engrafted fruits, we are now enabled 
to continue a supposed happily acquired tree, for a 
much longer duration, than if such variety had 
been left in the state of unassisted nature ; per- 
liaps a duration as long again, or something more. 
But there is no direct permanency, because the 
kernels, within the fruit, which are the seed of the 
plants for forming the next generation of trees, will 
not produce their like. They may do so, acciden- 
tally ; but nothing more can be depended on. For 
example, suppose we take ten kernels, or pips, of 
any apple raised on an engrafted stock : sow them, 
and they will produce ten different varieties, no 
two of which will be alike, nor will either of them 
closely resemble the fruit from which the seeds 
were collected. The leaves also, of those trees 
raised from the same primogeneous or parent 
stock, will not actually be a copy of the leaves of 
any one of the varieties or family, to which each is 
connected by a vegetable consanguinity. In choos- 
ing the seed, that apple is likely to produce the 



OP FRUIT TREES. 25 

clearest and finest plants, whose kernels are firm, 
large, and well ripened. The size of the fruit is 
not to be regarded; for large apples do not al- 
ways ripen well, or rather, for cider, the small 
fruits are generally preferred, for making the 
strongest and highest-flavoured liquor. Should no 
valuable apples be raised from this process, the 
seedlings will make excellent stocks to engraft 
upon. In attempting to acquire new varieties, all 
the young plants, from the bed of apple quick, 
whose appearance is in the least degree promising, 
should be selected and planted together, at such a 
distance, as to allow each to produce its fruit, 
which will happen in about from twelve to fifteen 
or eighteen years, though Mr. Knight had two 
plants bearing fruit at six, and one at five years. 
Mr. Bucknal mentions one variety of apple, within 
his knowledge, which he supposes to be one hun- 
dred and forty years old ; and a pear tree, supposed 
to be two hundred years old. It is an undoubted 
fact, and worthy of observation, that all the dif- 
ferent trees, of the same variety, have a wonderful 
tendency to similarity of appearance among them- 
selves ; and that the parent stock, and all engrafted 
from it, have a greater resemblance to each other, 
than can be found in any part of the animal crea- 
tion ; and this habit does not vary to any extent of 
age. Whatever is said here respecting the apple, 
is equally applicable to the pear tree. Some 
years ago, from due investigation and thorough 
conviction, Mr. B. propagated the principle, that all 
the grafts, taken from the first tree or parent 
stock, or any of the descendants, will for some gene- 
rations thrive ; but when this first stock shall, by 
mere dint of old age, fall into actual decay, a 
nihility of vegetation, the descendants, however 
young, or in whatever situation they may be, will 
gradually decline ; and, from that time, it Avould be 
imprudent, in point of profit, to attempt propagat- 
4 



26 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ing that variety from any of them. This is the dog- 
ma which must be received as undoubtedly true. 
From the time the kernel germinates for apple 
quick, should the plant be disposed to form a valua- 
ble variety, there will appear a regular progres- 
sive change or improvement in the organization 
of the leaves, until that variety has stood and 
grown sufficient to blossom and come to full bear- 
ing; that is, from the state of infancy to maturity ; 
and it is this and other circumstances, by which the 
inquisitive eye is enabled to form the selection, 
among those appearing likely to become valuable 
fruits. But from that time, the new variety, or se- 
lect plant, being compared with all the engraftments 
which may be taken from it, or any of them, these 
shall show a most undeviating sameness among them- 
selves. The different varieties of fruit are easily 
distinguished from each other by many particulars ; 
not only their general fertility, and the form, size, 
shape, and flavour of the fruit, but also the manner 
of the growth of the tree, the thickness and prO" 
portion of the twigs, their shooting from the parent 
stem, the form, colour, and consistence of the leaf, 
and many other circumstances by which the varie- 
ty can be identified; and were it possible to engraft 
each variety upon the same stock, they would still 
retain their discriminating qualities with the most 
undeviating certainty. Further, if twenty different 
varieties were placed together, so that each could 
receive its nurture from the same stem, they would 
gradually die off in actual succession, according to 
the age or state of health of the respective variety 
at the time the scions were placed in the stock; 
and a discriminating eye, used to the business, would 
nearly be able to foretell the order in which each 
scion would actually decline. Should it also hap- 
pen that two or three suckers, from the wilding 
stock, had been permitted to grow among the twen- 
ty grafts, such suckers, or wilding shoots, would 



OP FRUIT TREES. 27 

continue, and make a tree after all the rest are gone. 
A further consequence would result from the ex- 
periment. Among such a number of varieties, each 
of the free growers would starve the delicate, and 
drive them out of existence only so much the soon- 
er. It must be observed, that this supposed stem 
is the foster parent to the twenty scions, and real 
parent to the suckers ; and those least conversant 
with engrafted fruits know the advantage acquired 
by this circumstance. By an experiment, says Mr^ 
B., we have had in hand for five years, it will ap- 
pear, that the roots and stem of a large tree, after 
the first set of scions are exhausted or worn out, 
may carry another set for many years ; and we sus- 
pect a third set, provided engrafting is properly 
done, and the engrafter chooses a new variety. To 
express the concluding sentiments of Mr. B. in a few 
words, he maintains, that the different varieties of 
the apple will^ after a certain time, decline and ac- 
tually die away, and each variety, or all of the same 
stem or family, will lose their existence in vegeta- 
tion ; yet, after the debility of age has actually taken 
possession of any variety, and the vital principle is 
nearly exhausted, a superiour care and warmth will 
still keep the variety in existence some time longer. 
This, he observes, is an abstruse subject, very little 
understood, and requiring at first some degree of 
faith, observation, and perseverance. Mr. B. is 
fully convinced that we have the power of multi- 
plying a single variety, to whatever number we 
please ; and although these trees may amount to 
millions, yet, on the death of the primogeneous or 
parent stock, merely from old age or nihility of 
growth, each individual shall decline, in whatever 
country they may be, or however endued with youth 
and health. Nothing sublunary, which possessed 
either animal or vegetable life, is exempt from age 
and death. To exemplify this point more intellio-i- 
bly, let it be supposed that the Baldwin apple is a 



28 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

new variety produced from the seed. This, as the 
original stock, may continue to hve one hundred 
years. A scion, taken from it when ten years old, 
may hve ninety years ; another, taken ten years af- 
ter, may enjoy a duration of eighty years ; and so 
progressively. At the expiration of one hundred 
years, the original stock, and all derivatives from it, 
will become extinct. 



METHOD OF FORCING FRUIT TREES TO BLOSSOM AND 
BEAR FRUIT. 

With a sharp knife, cut a ring round the limb or 
small branch which you wish should bear, near the 
stem or large bough where it is joined ; let this ring 
or cut penetrate to the wood. A quarter of an 
inch from this cut, make a second like the first, en- 
circling the branch like a ring a quarter of an inch 
broad between the two cuts. The bark, between 
these two cuts, must be removed, clean down to the 
wood ; even the fine inner bark, which lies immedi- 
ately upon the wood, must be scraped away, until 
4he bare naked wood appears, white and smooth, 
so that no connexion whatever remains between 
the two parts of the bark. This barking, or gird- 
ling, must be made at the precise time Avhen, in all 
nature, the buds are strongly swelling, or about 
breaking out into blossoms. In the same year a 
callus is formed at the edges of the ring, on both 
sides, and the connexion of the bark is again restor- 
ed, without any detriment to the tree or the branch 
operated upon. By this simple operation, the fol- 
lowing advantages will be obtained : 1. Every 
young tree, of which you do not know the sort, is 
compelled to show its fruit, and decide sooner whe- 
ther it may remain in its present state, or requires 
to be grafted. 2. You may thereby, with certain- 
ty, get fruit of a good sort, and reject the more or- 
dinary. The branches so operated upon, are hung 



OP FRUIT TREES. 29 

full of fruit, while others, that are not ringed, often 
have none or very little on them. This effect is 
explained from the theory of the motion of the sap. 
As this ascends in the wood and descends in the bark, 
the above operation will not prevent the sap rising 
into the upper part of the branch, but it will pre- 
vent its descending below this cut, by which means 
it will be retained in and distributed through the 
upper part of the branch in a greater portion than 
it could otherwise be, and the branch and fruit will 
both increase in size much more than those that 
are not thus treated. The twisting of a wire or 
tying a strong thread round a branch has been often 
recommended as a means of making it bear fruit. 
In this case, as in ringing the bark, the descent of 
the sap in the bark must be impeded above the 
ligature, and more nutritive matter is consequently 
retained, and applied to the expanding parts. The 
wire or ligature may remain in the bark. Mr. 
Knight's theory, on the motion of sap in trees, is 
"that the sap is absorbed from the soil by the bark 
of the roots, and carried upward by the alburnum 
of the root, trunk and branches; that it passes 
through the central vessels into the succulent mat- 
ter of the annual shoots, the leaf-stalk and leaf; 
and that it is returned to the bark through certain 
vessels of the leaf-stalk, and descending through the 
bark, contributes to the process of forming the 
wood. A writer in the American Farmer says, he 
tried the experiment of ringing some apple, peach, 
pear, and quince trees on small limbs, say from an 
mch to an inch and a quarter in diameter. The 
result was, the apples, peaches, and pears were dou- 
ble the size on those branches, than on any other 
part of the trees : in the quinces there was no dif- 
ference. One peach, the heath, measured, on a 
ringed limb, in circumference 11| inches round, and 
IH inches round the ends, and Aveighed 15 ounces. 



30 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

The limbs above the ring have grov»^n much larger 
than below it. 



NURSERY. 

It has been a received opinion, that the soil for 
a nursery should not be made rich, as the plants, 
when removed to a more fertile soil, will flourish 
more luxuriantly; but later observation has decided 
that the reverse of this will be found correct. There 
is a close analogy between vegetable and animal 
life; and it is a dictate of nature that both require a 
full supply of nutriment from their earliest existence. 
It would be absurd to suppose that the tender roots 
of young seedlings are capable of drawing sufficient 
nutriment from a rank, barren, and uncultivated soil, 
and those that, are barely supported, or nearly starv- 
ed at first, will never afterwards become vigorous, 
stately and handsome, though surrounded by the 
richest mould. Repeated experiments have prov- 
ed that a strong and vigorous plant, that has grown 
up quickly, and arrived at a considerable magnitude 
in a short time, never fails to grow better after 
transplanting, than another of the same size that is 
older and stinted in its growth. Where the soil is 
poor and lean, trees, in every stage of growth, are 
observed to. be languid, weak, and stinted ; while 
those reared in a good mellow soil always assume a 
free growth, and advance with strength and vigour. 
It is evident, therefore, that the ground to be occu- 
pied for a fruit nursery, requires to be made rich 
and fertile. The soil should also be deep, well 
pulverized, and cleared of all roots and weeds. The 
seeds may be sown either in autumn or in April, 
and in one year after, the young plants may be taken 
up and replanted in the nursury. It is important 
that the situation be such as to admit of a free cir- 
culation of air, and open to the sun, that the plants 
may be preserved in a healthy condition. Plants 



OP PRUIT TREES. ' 31 

reared in a confined and shaded situation in a 
large town, and removed to an open exposure in the 
country, will long continue in a debilitated condition ; 
like a puny city invalid, their growth will be great- 
ly impeded, and many years will elapse before they 
attain to a state of vigour, health, and hardihood. 

From the observations in the preceding pages, it 
is obviously important, that the seed, to be planted 
in nurseries, should be selected from fruit of a su- 
periour quality. John Kenrick, esquire, of New- 
ton, Massachusetts, has, however, adopted the 
following method. Take the pumice from late- 
made cider, separate the seeds by means of a rid- 
dle sieve, mix them with a quantity of rich loam 
sifted fine ; put this into a box and expose it to the 
Aveather during winter. In April, the earth and 
seeds are put into a basket, and washed until the 
seeds are separated, when they are planted in a 
naturally rich soil, thoroughly pulverized, and well 
prepared with rotten manure and leached ashes. 
The seeds are planted in straight, parallel rows, 
three feet apart, and about two inches deep; the 
plants, if too thick, may be thinned to about six 
inches apart, by pulling up the feeblest. The plants 
should be kept clear of weeds, annually manured, 
and properly pruned. Young trees should be ef- 
fectually secured from sheep and horned cattle, in 
every stage of their growth. 

In Marshall's Rural Economy it is directed, that 
the seedling plants, when taken from the seed bed, 
be sorted agreeably to the strength of their roots, 
that they may rise evenly together. The tap, or 
large bottom root, should be taken off, and the 
longer side rootlets should be shortened. The 
young plants should then be set in rows, three 
feet apart, and from fifteen to eighteen inches asun- 
der, in the rows ; care being taken not to cramp 
the roots, but to bed them evenly and horizontally 
among the mould. In strictness of management, 



32 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

they ought, two years previous to their being trans- 
ferred to the orchard, to be retransplanted into 
unmanured double dug ground, four het every way 
apart, in order that the feeding fibres may be 
brought so near the stem, that they may be re- 
moved with it into the orchard, instead of being, 
as they generally are, left behind in the nursery, 
Hence, in this second transplanting, as in the first, 
the branches of the root should not be left too long, 
but ought to be shortened in such a manner as to 
induce them to form a regular globular root, sui3i- 
ciently small to be removed with their plants, yet 
sufficiently large to give it firmness and vigour in 
the plantation. It is reported, that the agricultural 
society of JVova Scotia has found, by experience, 
that apple trees, raised from seeds, if transplanted 
from the seed bed, in time, (having the tap root 
cut off,) may be rendered fit for grafting one or 
two seasons earlier than if left in the place where 
the seeds were sown. While in the nursery bed, 
the young plants require to be frequently hoed ; the 
earth should be kept loose, and entirely free from 
weeds ; and, in a very dry season, they should be 
occasionally watered. When two years old, they 
will be in a proper condition to receive the scions, 
or buds, which are intended for them, as the ope- 
ration is then more easy and certain than when the 
stocks are older. 



ENGRAFTING. 

The art of engrafting has not, it is believed, been 
traced to its origin. In a treatise, published by 
Parkinson, in 1629, both grafting and inoculating 
are mentioned, but the period when the practice 
commenced has not been ascertained. The great 
utility and advantage of the art is, however, uni- 
versally understood. According to Mr. Yates, 
(letter published in Forsyth's treatise,) the art was 



OP FRUIT TREES. 33 

Introduced into America by Mr. Prince, a native of 
New- York, who established a nursery in its neigh- 
bourhood about sixty years ago. Fruit trees, which 
are grafted or inoculated, come into a bearing state 
several years sooner than those produced from 
seed ; besides, grafted or inoculated trees invaria- 
bly produce the same kind of fruit as the parent 
tree from which the scion or bud is taken, while 
that from seedling trees is liable to sport in endless 
varieties. In the choice of scions for grafting, the 
first essential requisite is, that they are of the same 
genus and natural family with the stock which is to 
become their foster parent, and which is to afford 
them future nourishment and support. The apple 
cannot be advantageously engrafted on a pear stock, 
nor will a pear succeed well on an apple stock : for, 
although it may flourish and bear fruit for a few 
years, it will never prove a profitable tree, and will 
decline and decay sooner than others. Scions from 
a winter apple tree should not be grafted on a sum- 
mer apple stock, because the sap in the summer 
stock is liable to decline and diminish before the 
winter fruit has become fully ripe. In the memoirs 
of the American academy of arts and sciences, 
volume I, page 388, is a communication from the 
late honourable B. Lincoln, relative to the engraft- 
ing of fruit trees, &c. in which he says, " I had 
observed, for a number of years, an apple tree in 
my orchard, the natural fruit of which was early, 
having been grafted with a winter scion, producing 
fruit very like in appearance to the fruit produced 
by the tree whence the scion was taken, but desti- 
tute of those qualities inherent in that fruit, and 
necessary to its keeping through the winter. This 
led me to call in <5[uestion the propriety of grafting 
winter fruit on a summer stock," &c. A pear is 
occasionally engrafted on a quince, for the purpose 
of dwarf trees, but it is of smaller growth, and less 
vigorous and durable than if nourished by its more 
5 



34 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

natural parent. It is next important, that scions 
be taken from trees that have attained to the ma- 
turity of full bearing. Perhaps cultivators, in gene- 
ral, are not apprized of the fact, that, if a scion be 
taken from a seedling tree of one or two years old, 
it will retain the character and undergo the same 
annual change as the seedling tree itself, whatever 
be the age of the stock into which it is inserted ; 
and that it will remain unproductive of fruit, until 
the seedling tree has acquired its proper age and 
maturity. It is strongly to be suspected, that nur- 
sery men, either from ignorance or indifference, 
have disregarded this circumstance, and imposed 
Upon purchasers trees of this description, by which 
their just expectations have been disappointed. 
Scions are directed to be cut in March, before the 
buds begin to swell ; and in order to preserve them 
in good condition for grafting, they must be placed, 
with their lower ends in the ground, in some dry 
part of the cellar, till wanted. But some expe- 
rienced operators prefer cutting their scions as near 
the time they are to be employed as may be con- 
venient. Scions should always be taken from the 
extremities of the most thrifty and best bearing 
trees, and of the last year's growth, except only 
just enough of the growth of the year before to 
fix in the earth, to preserve them moist until they 
are to be used. In the Edinburgh encyclopedia it 
is advised to cut the scions several weeks before 
the season for grafting arrives ; the reason is, that 
experience has shown, that grafting may most suc- 
cessfully be performed, by allowing the stock to 
have some advantage over the graft in forwardness 
of vegetation. It is desirable, that the sap of the 
stock should be in brisk motion at the time of 
grafting ; but by this time, the buds of the scion, 
if left on the tree, would be equally advanced ; 
whereas the scions, beirjg gathered early, the buds 
are kept back, and ready only to swell out, when the 



OF FRUIT TREES. 35 

graft is placed on the stock. The selecting proper 
scions, the writer observes, is a matter of the great- 
est importance, if we wish to enjoy the full advan- 
tage which may be derived from grafting. They 
should be taken from a healthy tree in full bearing, 
and from the outer side of the horizontal branches 
of such a tree, where the wood has freely enjoyed 
the benefit of sun and air. If the tree be in a lux- 
uriant state, the grafts are very properly taken from 
the extremities of bearing branches ; but if it bo 
in a debilitated condition, the most healthy shoots 
in the centre of the tree should be employed. 
The extremity of the scion should be cut off, leaving 
four or five eyes or buds, as the middle part affords 
the best graft. The most proper season for grafting, 
in our climate, is from about the twentieth of March, 
to the twentieth of May, though the operation has 
succeeded well, as late as the tenth of June, provid- 
ed the scions have been properly preserved. Prac- 
tical gardeners, it is said, concur in stating, that the 
nature of fruit is, to a certain extent, affected by 
the nature of the stock. Crab stocks, for example, 
cause apples to be firmer, to keep longer, and to 
have a sharper flavour. Mr. S. Cooper, of New- 
Jersey, expresses himself as follows, on this subject : 
(Dom. Ency. Mease's edit.) " I have, in numerous 
instances, seen the stock have great influence on the 
fruit grafted thereon, in respect to bearing, size, 
and flavour, and also on the durability of the tree, 
particularly in the instance of a number of Vande- 
vere apple trees ; the fruit of which v/as so subject 
to the bitter rot as to be of little use. They were 
engrafted fifty years ago, and ever since those of 
them having tops composedof several different kinds, 
though they continue to be more productive of fruit 
than any others in my orchard, yet are subject to the 
bitter rot, the original and well known affection of 
the fruit of the primitive stock. I have had frequent 
opportunities of observing the same circumstance, in 



36 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

consequence of receiving many scions from myfriendsu, 
which, after bearing, I engrafted, and the succeeding 
fruit uniformly partook, in some degree, of the quali- 
ties of the former, even in their disposition to bear 
annually or biennally." Mr. C. has ascertained the 
fact that early and late apples, by being grafted on 
the same tree, improved in size and flavour more 
than if but one kind grew on a tree. It should be 
observed, as a rule, never to employ suckers from 
old trees as stocks for grafts, or buds, as they have 
a constant tendency to generate suckers, and there- 
by injure the growth of the trees. 

MODES OF GRAFTING. 

The mode of performing this operation is varied, 
according to the size and situation of the stock to be 
employed. The small stocks in the nursery, if of 
such kind as produce an erect strong stem, are usual- 
ly grafted within or near the surface of the earth, 
in which case, the mould is brought round them in 
the form of a little hillock, and nothing more is re- 
quired. When the stock is naturally inclined to 
branch out horizontally, the preferable mode is to 
insert the bud or graft high enough to form a hand- 
some head or top. In this mode of operating, it is 
necessary to employ some kind of composition or 
covering in order to secure from injury by the 
weather, or influence of the sun. The following is 
commonly used ; A quantity of clay or stiff* loam is 
to be worked fine and mixed with some chopped 
hay or coarse horse-dung. It should be prepared a 
day or two before hand, and be beat up with a little 
water as needed. This should be applied closely 
round the parts in the form of a collar, or ball, ta- 
pering at both ends, the upper end being applied, 
closely to the graft, and the under to the stock. A 
good substitute for the above is a composition of 
turpentine, bees-wax and rosin melted together ; if 



OP FRUIT TREES. 37 

it prove too hard, it may be softened with a Httle 
hog's lard or tallow. This may be applied with a 
brush while warm, but not too hot. A common 
sod, applied with the grass side out, is often em- 
ployed, and is found to answer every purpose. There 
are several different methods of performing the 
operation of grafting, in all which, it should be a 
general rule to adjust the inner bark of the stock 
and of the scion in close contact, and to confine them 
precisely in that situation. If this be accurately 
effected, all species of grafting will prove successful. 
In that method which is usually called whip-graft- 
ing^oY tongue-grafting, the top of the stock and the 
extremity of the graft should be nearly of equal di- 
ameter. They are both to be sloped of a full inch 
or more, and then tied closely together. This me- 
thod may be much improved, by performing what 
gardeners call tongueing or lipping ; that is, by mak- 
ing an incision in the bare part of the stock, down- 
wards, and a corresponding slit in the scion, upwards; 
after which they are to be carefully joined together, 
so that the barks of both may meet in every part, 
when a bandage of bass wood is to be tied round 
the scion, to prevent it from being displaced ; and 
the whole is to be covered over with the composi- 
tion. When the stocks to be grafted upon are from 
one to two or more inches in diameter, as branches 
of trees, cleft-grafting is generally employed. The 
head of the stock or branch being carefully cut off 
in a sloping direction, a perpendicular cleft or slit is 
to be made, about two inches deep, with a knife or 
chisel, towards the back of the slope, into which a 
Avedge is to be driven, in order to keep it open for 
the admission of the scion. The latter must now 
be cut in a perpendicular direction, and in the form 
of a wedge, so as to fit the incision in the stock. As 
soon as it is prepared, it should be placed in the 
cleft in such manner that the inner bark of both the 
stock and scion mar meet exactly together. It h 



38 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

then to be tied with a ligature of bass, and clayed 
over, as is practised in whip-grafting, three or four 
eyes being left in the scion uncovered. It should 
be observed, that in making the cleft in the stock, 
care should be taken not to injure the pith, the sci- 
ons being inserted in the sap wood of the stock or 
branch. Old stocks may be grafted in the bark, 
called crown-graftings but this cannot be practised 
successfully till the sap be in full motion, that the 
bark may be easily raised from tlie wood. The 
head of the stock or thick branch is cut off hori- 
zontally ; a perpendicular slit is made in the bark, 
as in budding ; a narrow ivory folder is thrust down 
between the wood and the bark, in the places where 
the grafts are to be inserted. The graft is cut, at 
the distance of an inch and a half from its extremi- 
ty, circularly through the bark, not deeper than 
the bark on one side, but fully half way through or 
beyond the pith on the other. The grafts being 
pointed, and a shoulder left to rest on the bark of 
the stock, they are inserted into the openings, and 
either three or four grafts are employed, according 
to the size of the crown. Side-grafting is some- 
times employed for supplying vacancies on the lower 
parts of full-grown fruit trees. The bark and a 
little of the wood are sloped off for the 'space of an 
inch and a half, or two inches ; a slit is then made 
downwards, and a graft is cut to fit the part, with 
a tongue for the slit ; the parts, being properly 
joined, are tied close and clayed over. When stocks 
cannot readily be procured, root-grafting may be 
successfully employed. A piece of the root of a 
tree of the same genus, well furnished with fibres, 
is selected, and a graft placed on it, tied and clayed 
in the ordinary way. Thus united, they are set 
with care in a trench in the ground, the joining be- 
ing covered, but the top of the graft being left two 
inches above ground. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 39 

**The following new mode of grafting/' says Dr. 
Mease, (Dora. Ency.) " the late Mr. A. C. Du Plaine 
informed the editor, was long kept a secret in 
France. A limb of willow, three or four inches 
thick, was buried in a trench deep enough to re- 
ceive it, and at the distance of every four or five 
inches, holes were bored, into which grafts were 
inserted, care being taken to make the bark of the 
graft, and the limb into which it was inserted touch ; 
the lower part of the graft was pointed and the 
bark shaved off. The limb and the grafts were 
then covered with earth and kept moist, and about 
two inches of the latter left above the surface. In 
process of time the limb rotted, and the grafts took 
root. The different grafts were then dug up and 
transplanted." In the same valuable publication, 
Dr. Mease has communicated an account of the 
mode of Mr. William Fairman, of " extreme-branch 
grafting,^'' upon old decayed trees, " which promises 
to be of a very great acquisition to those who take 
pleasure in cultivating fruit." The process is as 
follows : " Cut away all spray wood, and make the 
tree a perfect skeleton, leaving all the healthy 
limbs ; then clean the branches, and cut the top of 
each off, where it would measure in circumference 
from the size of a shilling to about that of a crown 
piece. Some of the branches must of course be 
taken off where they are a little larger, and some 
smaller, to preserve the canopy or head of the tree ; 
and it will be necessary to take out the branches 
which cross others, and observe the arms are left 
to fork off, so that no considerable opening is to be 
perceived when you stand under the tree, but that 
they may represent a uniform head. When pre- 
paring the tree, leave the branches sufficiently long 
to allow of two or three inches to be taken off by 
the saw, that all the splintered parts may be re- 
moved. The tree being thus prepared, put in one 
or two grafts at the extremity of each branch, and 



40 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

put on the cement or composition, and tie with bas« 
or soft strings. Sever the shoots or suckers from 
the tree until the succeeding spring. To make good 
the deficiency in case some grafts do not succeed, 
additional grafts may be inserted in the sides of the 
branches, or where they are wanted to form the 
tree into a handsome shape." 



BUDDING, OR INOCULATING. 

By the process of budding, we obtain the same 
result as in grafting; with this difference, however, 
the bud being a shoot in embryo, grafted trees 
usually produce fruit two seasons earlier than bud- 
ded trees. Each bud may be considered a distinct 
being, which will form a plant retaining precisely 
the peculiarities of the parent stock; and five or 
six species of fruit may be budded on one tree, 
which, when attained to the maturity of bearing 
fruit, exhibit a singular and beautiful spectacle. 
Buds are formed at the bases of the foot stalks of 
the leaves, and are of two kinds, those which bear 
leaves, and those which bear flowers. The leaf 
buds are small, long, and pointed ; the flower buds 
are thick, short, and round. Both leaves and flow- 
ers are sometimes produced by the same bud, and 
they are generally employed, in budding, without 
distinction ; but the bud should always be of the 
same genus with the tree or branch, which is to 
receive it. The blossom buds are formed by the 
first sap between April and June, and are filled 
by the second sap between July and October. 
The proper season for budding, is from the begin- 
ning of July to the end of August, at which period 
the buds for next year are completely formed in 
the axilla of the leaf of the present year, and they 
are known to be ready, from their easily parting 
from the wood. The buds preferred, are the 
shortest observed on the middle of a young shoot, 



OP FRUIT TREES, 41 

on the outside of a healthy and fruitful tree ; on no 
account should an immature tree, or a bad bearer, 
be resorted to for buds. For gathering the shoots 
containing the buds, a cloudy day, or an early or 
late hour, is chosen, it being thought that shoots, 
gathered in full sunshine, perspire so much as to 
drain the moisture from the buds. The buds 
should be used as soon after being gathered as pos- 
sible, and the whole operation should be quickly 
performed. In taking off the bud from the twig, 
the knife is inserted about half an inch above it, 
and a thin slice of the bark, and wood along with 
it, taken off, bringing out the knife about an inch 
and a half below the bud. This lower part is af- 
terwards shortened and dressed, and the leaf is cut 
off, the stalk being left about half an inch long. 
Perhaps it is better to insert the knife three quar- 
ters of an inch below the bud, and to cut upwards ; 
at least, this mode is practised in the Scottish nur- 
series. The portion of wood is then taken out by 
raising it from the bark, and pulling it downwards 
or upwards, according as the cut has been made 
from above or below. If the extraction of the 
wood occasion a hole at the bud, that bud is spoilt, 
and another must be prepared in its stead; as gar- 
deners speak, the root of the bud has gone with 
the wood, instead of remaining with the bark. 
For the performance of the operation, provide a 
sharp budding-knife, with a flat thin haft, of ivory, 
suitable to open the bark of the stock for the ad- 
mission of the bud, and also with a quantity of bass 
strings, or shreds of Russian mats, or woollen yarn, 
to bind round it when inserted. On a smooth part 
of the bark of the stock a transverse section is now 
made through the bark down to the wood; from 
this IS made a longitudinal cut downward, about an 
inch and a half long, so that the incision may some- 
what resemble a Roman T ; by means of the ilat 
ivory haft of the budding-knife the bark is raised 
o 



42 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

a little on each side of the longitudinal incision, so 
as to receive the bud. The prepared bud is 
placed in the upper part of the incision so made, 
and drawn downwards; the upper part is then cut 
off transversely, and the bud pushed upwards till 
the bark of the bud and of the stock join together. 
It is retained in this situation by means of tying 
with strands of bass, matting, or woollen yarn, ap- 
plied in such manner as to defend the whole from 
the air and sun, but leaving the leaf stalk, and the 
projecting part of the bark, uncovered. In about 
a month after the operation, the tying is slacken- 
ed ; buds, that have taken, appear swelled, and the 
foot stalk of the old leaf falls off on being slightly 
touched. All shoots that spring beknv the budded 
part are carefully cut off. The head of the stock 
is not removed till the following March ; after this, 
the bud grows vigorously, and, in the course of the 
summer, makes a considerable shoot. Against the 
next spring, the shoot is headed down in the man- 
ner of young grafted trees. 

According to the improved mode of Mr. Knight, 
the operation of budding is thus performed. In 
the month of June, when the buds are in a proper 
state, the operation is performed by employing 
two distinct ligatures to hold the buds in their 
places ; one ligature is first placed above the bud 
inserted, and upon the transverse section through 
the bark ; the other, the only office of which is 
to secure the bud, is applied in the usual way; as 
soon as the buds have attached themselves, the 
lower ligatures are taken off, but the others are 
suffered to remain. The passage of the sap up- 
wards, is, in consequence, much obstructed, and the 
inserted buds begin to vegetate strongly, in July; 
when these afford shoots about four inches long, 
the upper ligatures are taken off to permit the ex- 
cess of sap to pass on ; the wood ripens well, and 
affords blossoms, sometimes, for the succeeding 



OF FRUIT TREES. 45 

spring. It will be perceived, that instead of the 
usual mode of budding, after the commencement of 
the autumnal flow of sap, and keeping the bud 
without shooting until the following spring, when 
the top of the stock is cut off, this improved mode 
gains a season in point of maturity, if not of growth, 
and has the effect of grafting the preceding spring, 
in all cases where the bud sprouts in proper time 
to form a strong shoot, capable of sustaining, with- 
out injury, the frost of the ensuing winter. 

ANOTHER METHOD OF BUDDING. 

The common method of budding fruit trees, is, 
by cutting crosswise into the bark of the stem, and 
making a perpendicular cut from thence down- 
wards : the bud is then made to descend to the po- 
sition intended for it. The reverse of this ought 
to happen; the perpendicular cut should rise vp- 
wards. This last method rarely fails of success. 
The reason is derived from the fact, that the sap 
descends by the bark, instead of rising ; whence the 
bud, if placed above the transverse cut, receives '' 
abundance of sap, which it loses, if placed below it. 
The incision, wnich is to receive the bud, should 
resemble the capital, inverted, thus, j^, and the 
barks should be adjusted accordingly. It is assert- 
ed by Mr. Forsyth, that whenever an incision is 
made for budding, or grafting, the parts about the 
incision are very liable to be affected with the 
canker. As a preventive and curative remedy, he 
strongly recommends, as soon as the incision is 
made, and the bud or graft inserted, to rub in with 
the finger or brush, some of his composition, before 
the bass strings are tied on ; then cover the bass 
strings all over with the composition, as thick 
as it can be laid on with a brush ; and this, he 
thinks, is preferable to clay. It should be ob- 
served as a rule, not to slacken, too soon, the bass 



44 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

strings, which are wrapped round the bud ; and if 
the bark of the stock is found spreading open, the 
hgature must be carefully tightened, and suffered 
to remain some time longer. Mr. Yates, of Alba- 
ny, says, that to satisfy his curiosity, he made the 
experiment of budding in the spring, when the sap 
juice is in full motion, and found it to succeed ; but 
the insertion of the bud is more difficult than to do 
it in the summer season. A tree thus inoculated, 
will bear fruit one year sooner than one budded in 
the next summer season, and as soon as one budded 
the summer preceding. 

NURSERY PRUNING. 

Young trees properly pruned in the nursery, will, 
it is said, come to bearing sooner, and continue in 
vigour for nearly double the common time. All 
superfluous or rambling branches should be taken 
oil annually, and only three or four leading shoots 
be left to every head. Thus managed, the trees 
will not require to be lopped for a considerable 
time ; and as they will have no wounds open in the 
year when transplanted, their groAvth will be great- 
ly promoted. The more the range of branches 
shoots circularly, inclining upwards, the more equal- 
ly will the sap be distributed, and the better the tree 
bear. Mr. Cooper, a very intelligent cultivator, re- 
marks, that the side shoots should not be cut close 
to the stem, as the whole growth is thereby forced 
to the top, which becomes so weighty as to bend 
and spoil the tree. A better method is, to cut the 
ends of the side shoots so as to keep the tree in a 
spiral form, which will encourage the growth of the 
trunk, until it acquires strength to support a good 
top. The side shoots may then be cut close. In 
forming the top, Mr. C. has found it necessary to 
lighten the east and northeast sides, as fruit trees 
generally incline that way; and to encourage the 



OP FRUIT TREE3. 45 

branches on the opposite quarters, to keep the sun 
from the trunk ; otherwise, the rays of that lumina- 
ty, when striking at nearly right angles, will kill the 
bark, bring on canker, and ruin the tree. In Mar- 
shal's Rural Economy, we have the following di- 
rections. In pruning the plants, the leading shoot 
should be particularly attended to. If it shoot 
double, the weaker of the contending branches 
should be taken off. If the leader be lost and not 
easily recoverable, the plant should be cut down to 
within a hand's breadth of the soil, and a fresh stem 
trained. Next to the leader, the stem boughs re- 
quire attention. The undermost boughs should be 
taken off by degrees ; going over the plants every 
winter; always cautiously preserving sufficient heads 
to draw up the sap, thereby giving strength to the 
stems, and vigour to the roots and branches ; not 
trimming them up to naked stems, as is the common 
practice, thereby drawing them up prematurely tall 
and feeble in the lower part of the stems. The 
thickness of the stem ought to be in proportion to 
its height ; a tall stock therefore requires to remain 
longer in the nursery than a low one. We have 
the respectable authority of Mr. T. Pickering, that 
such trees as are tall should be cut down close to 
the ground, to prevent their being shaken by the 
wind, and to promote their growth. It may seem 
strange, he observes, to advise the cutting down a 
tall, well-grown plant, yet it is necessary ; for the 
roots are always hurt and shortened by the remov- 
al ; it is impossible for those that remain, to nourish 
the same body ; this is the reason we so often find 
our trees dead at top and hide-bound. Should my 
directions, he says, be followed, which are from 
thirty years experience, such vigorous shoots will 
spring up, as will in ten years become much larger 
trees than if they had stood uncut for forty years ; 
and the bark and every appearance of the tree vt9l\ 
be like one from the seed, and much trouble will be 



46 CULTURE AND MANAGEMEI^T 

saved in staking, to prevent their ruin from the 
wind. This method has not, we beheve, been very 
frequently adopted, although recommended by other 
cultivators beside the venerable author just cited, 
the result of whose long experience, and the reasons 
assigned for the practice, must be deemed satisfac- 
tory. It has been stated by an English author, that 
when young trees are planted out from the nursery, 
as soon as they begin to break in the spring, they 
are to be cut down to three or four eyes, according 
to their strength, to furnish them with bearing 
wood. If this were not done, they would run up in 
long naked branches, and would not produce one 
quarter of the fruit which they would when this is 
properly performed. 

ORCHARD, PLANTING AND CULTURE. 

It is an object of no inconsiderable importance to 
select the most eligible soil, situation and aspect for 
laying out a fruit orchard. With respect to soil, it 
should be of a rich loamy nature, neither too wet 
or heavy, nor too light or dry. Those fertile fields 
or pastures which produce abundant crops of corn, 
grass, and other vegetables, will in general be found 
well adapted to the growth of fruit trees. But in 
all cases, the soil sliould be suited to the particular 
kind of fruit. In Herefordshire, a celebrated cider 
county, in England, it is said to be a fact well ascer- 
tained, that scions from the same tree, grafted upon 
similar stocks, and planted in different soils, will 
produce cider of different qualities. It is also found 
that the early fruits obtain the greatest perfection 
in a sandy soil, and that the late fruits succeed best 
when planted in a strong clay. The best cider or- 
chards are on a strong clayey soil; for it seems to 
be admitted that the cider from trees in clay is 
stronger, and will keep better, than cider made from 
tfees on a sandy soil. But again, as applicable to 



OP FRUIT TREES. 47 

our own country. " The choice of a proper soil 
and exposure," says Dr. Mease, (Dom. Ency.) " is 
not sufficiently attended to in the United States. 
Mr. Riley, of Marcus Hook, whose experience in 
cider is inferiour to none, assures the editor, that 
apples growing in a good loose soil, produce much 
more rich and generous liquor than those that grow 
in a stiff clayey land." An orchard, says an English 
writer, should rather be elevated than low, as on a 
gentle declivity open to the south and southeast, 
to give free admission to the air and rays of the 
sun, as well as to dry up the damp, and dissipate 
fogs, in order to render the trees healthy, and give 
a line flavour to the fruit. It should likewise be 
well sheltered from the east, north, and westerly 
winds. The blossoms of apple trees are liable to 
be injured by spring frosts, when the trees are 
planted in the lowest parts of a confined valley. In 
the domestick encyclopedia, Dr. Mease has inserted 
an excellent paper on the climate of the United 
States, by colonel Tatham, from which I extract as 
follows. " It is a fact that in those western parts 
of the United States, which have a high exposure 
to the winter's blast, the northern sides of a ridge 
or mountain arrive sooner and more certainly at a 
state of perfect vegetation, than the south sides, 
which are laid open to the power of the sun. I 
account for this phenomenon as follows : I suppose 
that the southern exposure to the vehement rays 
of the sun, during the infant stages of vegetation, 
puts the sap in motion at too early a period of the 
spring, before the season has become sufficiently 
steady to afford nurture and protection to the vege- 
tating plant, blossom or leaf; and when in this state, 
the first eftbrts of vegetation are checked by the 
chilling influence of cold nights, and such changeable 
weather as the contest between winter and spring 
is ever ready to produce, in their apparent strug- 
gles to govern the season. On the contrary, the 



48 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

northern exposures, which are not so early present- 
ed to the vivifying influence of the sun, remain, as 
it were, in a torpid state until the more advanced 
period of the spring, when all danger of vegetation 
being checked, is over." I have long entertained 
the opinion, says Mr. Yates, that an orchard, expos- 
ed to the north, where the ground in the spring of 
the year continues longer bound by frost, which re- 
tards the vegetation, would be preferable to one 
bearing an easterly or southern aspect, where the 
sap-juice is sooner in motion, and accelerated by 
the rays of the sun. The rows of trees in an or- 
chard ought to incline to a point of compass towards 
the east ; because the sun will shine upon them early 
in the forenoon, and thus dissipate the vapours 
which arise during the vernal nights, and stint the 
fruit in the earlier stages of its growth. The trees 
should be arranged in uniform straight rows, as be- 
ing most convenient to the husbandman, and at the 
same time exhibiting the most pleasing view to the 
tasteful eye. The distance in the rows or squares, 
will depend on the size and form of the full grown 
tree, and on various other circumstances connected 
with the future intentions and views of the proprie- 
tor. In every instance, however, the distance should 
be such as to prevent the extreme branches from 
locking into each other when attained to full matu- 
rity of growth. Miller, an experienced English 
horticulturalist, says, when the soil is good, the dis- 
tance should be fifty or sixty ieet, and where thq 
soil is not so good, forty feet may be sufficient. 
Lawson, who wrote in 1626, observes, that in a 
good soil and under proper management, apple trees 
will, in forty or fifty years, spread twelve yards 
on each side; and the adjoining tree spreading 
as much, gives twenty-four yards, or seventy-two 
feet, and the roots will extend still further. He 
therefore recommends that apple trees be set at 
the distance of eighty feet from each other. The 



OF FRUIT TREES. 



4§ 



advantages of thin planting are said tx) be: 1. The 
sun refreshes every tree, the roots, body, and bran- 
ches, with the blossoms and fruit, whereby the trees 
are more productive, and the fruit larger, fairer and 
better flavoured. 2. The trees grow larger, and 
are more healthy and durable. 3. When trees are 
planted too ne^ir, the lower branches are smother- 
ed for want of sun and air, the fruit is never well 
flavoured, and always small. The object is fruit, 
and we are not to expect that the quantity will be 
in proportion to the number of trees in an orchard, 
for a few trees of a large size will produce more 
and better fruit, than six or eight times the number 
of those which grow near and crowd one another. 
Again, apples are not to be estimated according to 
their number only, but their size and weight, as well 
as their superiour flavour. Another advantage is 
the profit of cultivating the ground under and about 
the trees. The intervening spaces may he culti- 
vated with various vegetables, or if preferreil, they 
may be filled with some temporary trees of small 
growth, as dwarfs, Avhich may be removed whea 
the principal standards have attained to a large 
size. Many apple trees have borne fruit for more 
than a century; and when trees show signs of decay 
at the age of thirty or forty. years, it is in general 
to be attributed to mismanagement, and probably 
to close planting. Every cultivator must have ex- 
perienced the great inconvenience occasioned by 
narrow and crowded intervals. When apple tree>s 
stand at the distance of twenty-five or thirty feet 
only, their horizontal branches will, as we frequent- 
ly see, in fifteen or twenty years interlope each 
other, and almost entirely obstruct the internals be- 
tween them. Taking into view, therefore, the fore- 
going particulars, the cultivator, in planting a young 
orchard, will determine for himself the most con- 
venient and suitable width of the intervals betv/een 
his trees. The most generallv approved distance 
7 



50 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

is forty feet in all directions, and this gives twenty- 
seven trees to an acre, while at thirty feet apart, 
an acre will contain forty-eight trees, and at thirty- 
five feet distance, thirty-five trees occupy an acre. 
With respect to the most proper season for 
planting apple trees in the United States, different 
opinions prevail. According to Dr. Mease, no 
general rule can be given, owing to the immense 
variety of climates with which we are favoured. 
In some states, the autumn may be best, while in 
others, in Pennsylvania, it is probable that early in 
the spring answers best. Indeed, in a comparative 
experiment of spring and autumn planting, made 
near Philadelphia, in 1802-3, the advantage was 
considerably in favour of those put down in the 
spring. Some, planted in autumn, were from a nur- 
sery near the city, and nearly all died ; another par- 
cel, from the excellent nursery of Mr. Prince, of 
Flushing, Long Island, arrived late in April, and all 
survived. There was no reason to suspect any 
difference in the soil, or the care with which both 
parcels were planted. E. Preble, esquire, of Bos- 
ton, is decided in preferring autumn to spring, for 
planting apple trees, as the ground will settle 
round the roots before frost, and the trees prepar- 
ed to shoot in the spring, aided by the rains which 
prevail at that season. If planted in spring, he ob- 
serves, the drought and heat of summer will in- 
jure, if not destroy them, before the roots find 
their place. He is in the practice of transplanting 
them as soon as the foliage is off in autumn, and 
farmers have more leisure at that season of the 



'^ear. 



PREPARATION OF THE LAND, AND PLANTING. 

When the ground is in pasture, it should be 
ploughed to a considerable depth, and Avell sum- 
mer fallowed, till the grass be killed. But, if 



OP FRUIT TREES. xlft, 

trenching should be preferred, the spade must be 
carried to the full depth of the soil ; and if it be 
gravelly, a considerable portion of this should be 
removed, and its place supplied by a due quantity 
of rich mould. The quality of the soil should ap- 
proach as nearly as possible to that of the nursery, 
in which the trees were reared. If it be poorer, 
the trees will'certainly be impeded in their growth. 
The trenches should be well dug, about five or six 
feet wide, that the holes to receive the roots may 
be made sufficiently large. Much of the future 
prosperity of the orchard depends upon a judicious 
selection of the trees. Mr. Bucknal advises, that 
they be chosen the year before they are intended 
to be planted, particular care being taken to obtain 
young, vigorous and healthy trees ; for cankered 
plants emit a vapour that is very detrimental to 
such as are sound. In taking up the trees from 
the nursery, the roots should be preserved of the 
full length, if possible ; the surface earth should 
be removed, and the running roots carefully traced 
and raised. If they must be cut, let it be done 
with a sharp instrument, and not hacked with a 
dull spade. The tap root, or that which pene- 
trates straight down, may be shortened to the 
length of about one foot, and all broken or bruised 
parts should be removed. The small matted fibres 
should be cut off, as they are apt to mould and de- 
cay, and prevent new ones from shooting. The 
remaining side roots should be spread out to give 
them a horizontal direction under the surface, that 
they may be more immediately influenced by the 
sun, and their sap will become richer, and produce 
the sweetest and most beautiful fruit. Some well- 
rotted manure, mixed with mould, may be advan- 
tageously placed round the roots, the earth care- 
fully pressed down, so as to come in contact with 
the roots in every part, and the trees placed the 
same side to the sun as they stood before. In 



n 



CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



transplanting trees, it may be observed, that they 
should not be replanted deep in the soil, since 
the most nutritive or salubrious parts of the 
earth are those within the reach of the sun's 
warmth, of the descending moisture, and of the 
air. And as ^the root fibres of trees, like those 
of seeds, always grow toward the purest air and 
brightest light, it follows, that the root fibres 
seldom rise higher in the ground than they were 
originally set, and seldom elongate themselves 
perfectly horizontally ; so that when a fruit tree 
19 planted too deep in the earth, it seldom grows 
in healthy vigour, either in respect to its leaf 
buds or flower buds. For a more particular descrip- 
tion of the method of planting fruit trees, I quote 
the language of Mr. Marshall, as follows : " De- 
scribe a circle about five or six feet diameter for 
the hole. If the ground be in grass, remove the 
sward in shallow spits, placing the sods on one side 
of the hole ; the best of the loose mould placed by 
itself on another side, and the dead earth, from the 
bottom of the hole, in another heap. The depth 
of the holes should be regulated by the nature of 
the sub-soil. Where this is cold and retentive, the 
holes should not be made much deeper than the 
cultivated soil. To go lower, is to form a recepta- 
cle for the water, which, by standing among the 
roots, is very injurious to the plants. On the con- 
trary, in a dry, light soil, the holes should be made 
considerable deeper; as well to obtain a degree of 
coolness and moisture, as to be able to establish 
the plants firmly in the soil. In soils of a middle 
quality, the hole should be of such depth, that 
when the sods are thrown to the bottom of it, the 
plant v/ill stand at the same depth in the orchard 
as it did in the nursery. Each hole, therefore, 
should be of a depth adapted to the particular root 
planted in it. The holes ought, however, for va- 
rious reasons, to be made previous to the day of 



OP FRUIT TREES* ^ 

planting. If the season of planting be spring, and 
the ground and the weather be dry, the holes 
should be watered the evening before the day of 
planting, by throwing two or three pails full of 
water into each; anew but eligible practice. In 
planting, the sods should be thrown to the bottom 
of the hole, chopt with the spade, and covered 
with some of the finest of the mould. If the hole 
be so deep, that with this advantage the bottom 
will not be raised high enough for the plant, some 
of the worst of the mould should be returned be- 
fore the sod be thrown down. The bottom of the 
hole being raised to a proper height aud adjusted, 
the lowest tier of roots is to be spread out upon 
it ; drawing them out horizontally, and spreading 
them in different directions, drawing out with the 
hand the rootlets and fibres which severally belong 
to them, spreading them out as a feather, pressing 
them evenly into the soil, and covering them, by 
hand, with some of the finest of the mould ; the 
other tiers of roots are then to be spread out and 
bedded in the same manner. Great care is to be 
taken to work the mould well in, by hand, that no 
hollowness be left ; to prevent which, the mould is 
to be trodden hard with the foot. The remainder 
of the mould should be raised into a hillock, round 
the stem, for the triple use of affording coolness, 
moisture, and stability to the plant. A little dish 
should be made on the top of the hillock, and from 
the rim of this the slope should be gentle to the 
circumference of the hole, where the broken 
ground should sink some few inches below the level 
of the orchard. Ail this detail may be deemed 
unnecessary; by those, I mean, who have been ac- 
customed to bury the roots of plants in the grave- 
digger's manner ; but I can recommend every part 
of it to those who wish to insure success, from ray 
own practice. Plants which have been transplant- 
ed in the manner here recommended, whose heads 



52| CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

have been judiciously lessened, and which have 
been planted in the manner here described, seldom 
require any other stay than their own roots. If, 
however, the stems be tall, and the roots few and 
short, they should be supported in the usual man- 
ner, with stakes, or rather, in the following manner, 
which is at once simple, strong, and most agreeable 
to the eye. Take a large post, and slit it with a 
saw, and place the parts flat-way with the faces 
to the plant, one on each side of it, and two feet 
apart, and nail your rails upon the edges of the 
posts. 

It seems to be a well-founded opinion, that 
young apple trees will not flourish advantageously 
jf planted on the site of an old orchard, or near 
the place where old trees have died. William 
Coxe, esquire, of New Jersey, the most expe- 
rienced orchardist in the United States, has expe- 
rimented with the view of ascertaining this fact ; 
and the result has demonstrated the correctness of 
it in the clearest manner. He planted young trees 
in the middle space between the old rows, and 
sometimes near the stumps of old trees, which had 
been for many years cut down and decayed ; he 
removed the old soil in digging the holes, and re- 
placed it with rich earth mixed with manure, and 
gave to his trees all the advantage of high cultiva- 
tion, yet they were manifestly inferiour in point of 
growth and vigour to those which were planted at 
the same season in his adjoining lots. 

Having progressed thus far, the husbandman ig 
now presented with a valuable orchard, planted 
and arranged in complete systematick order; and 
it may, if he please, be considered as the work of 
his own hands, from which he may anticipate high 
expectations of profit and amusement. Thus the 
value of a farm is greatly augmented, and the pro- 
prietor enjoys the satisfaction of bequeathing a 
rich inheritance to future generations. But his 



OP FRUIT TREES. 65 

labour is not yet at an end ; it will still require hia 
fostering care, and unremitted attention. In vain 
do we plant, labour, and toil, if through neglect in 
a single point, we suffer our harvest to be wrested 
from our hands. Nor are we less culpable if we 
suffer a young orchard to be destroyed by the de- 
predations of cattle, the annoyance of insects, and 
the corroding canker, without applying the appro- 
priate remedies. We suppose, then, of course, 
that the orchard is properly enclosed by a strong 
and close fence. We next proceed to cultivate the 
soil beneath, and between the trees, until they ar- 
rive at their complete size, as the quality, excel- 
lence, and maturity of the fruit will, in a great mea- 
sure, depend upon its proper culture. This pro- 
cess may be performed either with the plough, if 
due care be taken not to injure the roots, or with 
the spade around the trunks, and by these means 
both the fertility and health of the trees are pro- 
moted, and the soil itself improved for the purpose 
of raising potatoes, turnips, or other vegetables, 
which do not tend too much to impoverish the 
land. If, however, it is intended to cultivate clo- 
ver, or other meadow grass for mowing, still it 
will be advisable to reserve a circuit round each 
tree, as extensive as the roots, to be kept open by , 
tillage, that by frequent hoeing the fertilizing pro- 
perties of rain, air, and dew, may more easily pene- 
trate into the earth, and produce beneficial effects 
on the roots. The opinion prevails among some 
farmers, that clover has a tendency to retard the 
growth of fruit trees. If this be true of clover 
more than of any other grass, it may probably be 
explained from its luxuriant foliage secluding the 
influence of warmth, air, and light, from their 
roots. Mr. Kenrick, of Newton, olDserves, that he 
has found herds grass the most injurious to his 
trees. 



§6 CULTURE AND MA!«AQEMENT 



MANURirfG. 

It is well known to everj farmer, that young 
fruit trees will flourish luxuriantly, while the ground 
is cultivated with various vegetable crops, and that 
the same tillage and manuring, which is required 
for the latter, will prove highly conducive to the 
growth and fertility of the former. In fact, it has 
been ascertained by experience and observation, 
that apples, pears, peaches, &c. attain to their 
highest perfection only when the soil about the 
roots is kept open, and frequently manured. It is 
by the chemical combination of air, warmth, and 
moisture, that the growth and vigour of plants and 
trees are essentially promoted and maintained. 
The process of nature is greatly assisted by 
such substances as cause the greatest degree of 
fermentation, when buried in the earth. Hence, 
all animal substances, from the great degree of fer- 
mentation created by their dissolution, will be 
found productive of the greatest utility. Among 
these, are dead animal bodies, horns, hoofs, bones, 
Avhen reduced to fragments or powder, leather, 
shells, &;c. To which may be added hair, wool, 
and woollen rags. These, applied to the roots, 
and a top dressing of swamp or pond mud, chip or 
compost manure, annually, or once in two years, 
will produce surprising eifects, and the farmer will 
realize ample compensation by the increased quan- 
tity and improved quality of his crop. As an ex- 
traordinary instance of resuscitating an old worth- 
less apple tree, by the application of manure, I 
quote from the Dom. Ency. a statement, which ap- 
peared in the Salem Register, of May, 1802. "In 
my garden is an apple tree, which, about the year 
1763, sprouted from the root of a former tree: it 
now girts three feet six inches. From 1784 to 
1790, I observed it to be barren, and a cumberer 



OF FRUIT TREES. 67 

of the ground ; year after year, being the prey of 
caterpillars, and exhibiting the constant appearance 
of innumerable warts within the outside bark, 
which, at the time, I suspected was natural instinct 
in the insect for the propagation of its kind. In 
the spring of 1793, 1 tried an experiment for giving 
it new life, as follows : very early in the season, I 
directed my gardener with a hoe to cleanse the 
outside bark of such excrescences as might bear 
the operation with little difficulty. In the next 
place, I directed him to raise a wall of small stones. 
round the tree, at the distance of one foot, and per- 
haps nine inches high, and then to fill the cavity 
with manure from the resource of compost. The 
effect in the succeeding season was truly worthy 
of notice. The warts disappeared, the bark clean 
and thrifty, and the tree so loaded with fruit as 
that about one third of the boughs broke and came 
to the ground with the cumbersome weight. Com- 
paratively no caterpillars since, and, on an average, 
a very plentiful crop of fruit yearly. I was led to 
the experiment by taking notice of a pear tree that 
had been in a very similar situation, and had been 
resuscitated in a similar manner." 

There is not, perhap, in nature a more fertiliz- 
ing application than the liquid substance which is 
left at the bottom of stercoraries and barn-yards, 
after the more solid substance has been removed. 
This effervescing mixture contains the very essence 
of the food of plants, and it might be carried out 
in tight carts or casks, especially in a dry season, 
and emptied about the trunks and roots, in the 
cool hours of morning and evening, but on no ac- 
count during the heat of a summer's day. The 
planter, however, ougiit to be apprized, that the 
process of manuring must not be carried to excess, 
as too great a stimulus applied to trees, facilitates 
the luxuriant growth of wood, and renders the 
branches less productive of fruit: or the trees mav 
8 



58 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

be stimulated to a preternatural exertion for a few 
years, when their prolifick powers will be exliaust- 
ed, and a premature decay mduced. Fresh stable 
manure is supposed to be injurious to fruit trees. 

There is another expedient, which is understood 
to have produced favourable effects in promoting 
the growth of young fruit trees, especially in grass 
land. The method was published some years ago 
by a German clergyman, and simply consists in 
spreading flax-shaws, or the refuse of flax after it 
has been dressed, on the soil contiguous to the 
trunks of the trees, as far as the roots extend ; by 
which means their size, as well as their fertility, is 
remarkably increased. In the vicinity of the sea- 
coast, a valuable substitute for refuse ilas, may be 
found in fresh sea weed. I have employed this 
article with considerable advantage. Being laid 
thick round the trunk, it prevents the growth of 
grass and weeds, keeps the earth open and loose, 
and, I am disposed to believe, prevents field mice 
from injuring the bark of the trees in winter, as 
the salt with which this substance is impregnated 
is supposed to be obnoxious to those vermin. It 
occurs to me as highly probable, that a quantity of 
sea weed pressed round the trunks of fruit trees, 
extending three or four feet, would prove a reme- 
dy against the canker worm, by formmg a compact 
substance, tlu'ougii which both the canker moth 
and Avorm w ould be unable to penetrate. It might 
also serve as a protection against the destructive 
worm, which bores into the tree near the surface 
of the earth. 

Engrafted apple trees sometimes put forth blos- 
soms and bear fruit when two or three years old ; 
but if this premature produce be permitted, the 
prolifick powers will be greatly impaired, and the 
trees will suffer irreparable injury. If, therefore, 
the blossoms appear abundant, the fruit should be 
taken off as soon as formed, leaving only four or 



OF FRUIT TREES. 59 

five ajDples on each tree, to ascertain their size and 
quaHty. Even at a more advanced stage of growth, 
if part of the apples are taken off in season, the 
remainder will be much improved in all respects, 
and the trees will not only produce fruit in higher 
perfection, but the bearing branches will every 
year become more vigorous and fruitful. It has 
been observed, that trees, which begin their bear- 
ing gradually, are, in general, more disposed to aftbrd 
an annual crop. 

It is not to be expected, that the systematick 
plan and particular rules described in the foregoing 
pages, will accord with the views and circumstan- 
ces of every agriculturalist. It may, in some in- 
stances, interrupt a course of field culture which 
the farmer has prescribed for himself, or his farm 
may not afford an eligible situation for a regular 
plantation of fruit trees. In such dilemma it may 
be convenient to plant trees in various parts of the 
farm, not otherwise occupied, as on the borders and 
corners of fields contiguous to roads, lanes, (fee. In 
some instances, it is deemed a preferable method to 
set trees on the sides of a square field, the centre 
of which is left open for pasture or tillage; and 
such arrangement is not without its advantages. 
It has been observed, that apple trees produce a 
more abundant crop when the ground is trodden 
and manured by cattle in the winter; but they 
should by no means be suffered to browse on the 
branches. We are not, indeed, without examples 
of scattered trees, of spontaneous growth, occupy- 
ing land which has never been broken by the 
plough, nor subjected to the hand of culture. From 
these, tolerable crops of fruit are occasionally ob- 
tained, Avhich, although of inferiour quality, are 
nevertheless capable of being converted to useful 
purposes. Witn the view of showing the facility 
with which many natural disadvantages may be 
overcome, and an orchard reared in the most un- 



60 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

promising situation, I shall introduce here an ex- 
tract from a valuable paper, published in the Ag- 
ricultural Repository, No. i. vol. 6, by John Wells, 
esquire, of Dorchester. Mr. W. relates two in- 
stances of cultivating apple trees successfully iu 
unfavourable situations. In the one, a low piece 
of strong stony land was taken. " As it was rather 
flat, it was ploughed in strips or dug in spaces 
about four feet square. As it was necessary to 
plough a furrow between each row, the mode of 
ploughing in strips was found the best, as by turn- 
ing the furrow towards the tree, the land was bet- 
ter drained. Besides raising the ground a little 
from the surrounding soil, half a buck load of loam 
was added, to raise the ground on which the tree 
was set. After this was done, the strips or 
squares, as the case might be, were appropriated 
to the culture of potatoes and garden vegetables. 
In a few places only, the trees failed from the in- 
sufficiency of the drain. But by opening the drain, 
and raising the ground by half a buck load of loam, 
I found, on setting out a new tree, it flourished 
equally with the rest. This orchard, now in eight 
years, is a most valuable one, and most of the trees 
would give half a barrel of apples. From this and 
other circumstances which have fallen within my 
observation, it appears that low land, if strong soil, 
and Veil drained, will give a fine orchard, and pro- 
bably sooner than any other." 

The next eftbrt was made under totally opposite 
circumstances. " The object was to have an or- 
chard on a particular spot, where the soil was thin 
and light, upon a plain or flat. The holes were 
dug four feet over. The two upper strata of 
black and yellow loam, were placed aside the tree. 
After this, about ten inches in depth of the gravel- 
ly, or poorer earth, was taken out and carted ofl*, 
and a horse cart load of stones upset into the 
hole ; upon these, a part of the upper stratum, or 



OF FRUIT TREKS> 61 

some dirt from the side of the road was scattered 
so as to fill up the interstices ; since which the spots 
near the trees have been cultivated by planting 
four hills of potatoes round each tree. The result 
has been tolerably favourable with all ; but the 
trees having the stones placed at the roots have 
exceedingly outstripped the others. The dimen- 
sions of the trees in the first experiment — a rich, 
low, black, stony soil, drained — were, at the expi- 
ration of eight years, fifteen to seventeen inches in 
circumference, one foot from the ground. This 
may be considered (the tree being small when set 
out) as a growth of about two inches a year. 
The growth in the second experiment, for six 
years, was twelve to fourteen inches, in the holes 
in which the stones were put, one foot from the 
ground. Where no stones were put, nine inches 
was the growth. It will thus be perceived, that 
the vegetation was most powerful under circumstan- 
ces by nature least favourable. If, then, thus much 
can be done to counteract such disadvantages, it 
•surely oflfers much encouragement to our efforts, and 
leads us to hope, that not only in this, but in other 
objects, they may be beneficially extended.^" 



ORCHARD PRUNLXG. 



It has been remarked, that the management of 
orchards is capable of being reduced to a system, 
under a few general heads, connected in the prin- 
ciple of making all trees in an orchard healthy, 
round, large and beautiful. There is no part of 
this management, perhaps, so important, and which 
requires more skill, and at the same time is so lit- 
tle understood, as the process of orchard pruning. 
The necessity of commencing, and annually repeat- 
ing this operation in the nursery, has already been 
inculcated. When this discipline is properly put 
in practice, at that early period of growth, there 



62 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

will be less employment for the pruning knife at 
all future periods ; it will nevertheless be found 
indispensably necessary to retrench redundant or 
superfluous shoots and branches in every successive 
year of their existence. " To the neglect of prun- 
ing fruit trees in due season," says Mr. Yates, " and 
the unskilful manner of performing it, may, in a 
great measure, be ascribed the bad and unfruitful 
state of some of the orchards in America. This 
inattention and mismanagement, and, especially, 
the not amputating dead limbs, and extirpating all 
infected parts of fruit trees, subjects them to dis- 
ease, mortification, and death. An unpruned tree, 
left in a natural state, will bear fruit sooner than 
one that is pruned ; for by pruning, the parts below 
the lopped or amputated branches become vivipa- 
rous, and produce new leaf buds, which require 
several years before they will acquire sufficient 
maturity to generate fiower buds, to produce an 
oviparous progeny; but unpruned trees grow and 
look irregular and unsightly ; nor is their fruit to 
be compared to that of trees properly pruned and 
managed, in order to afford them a more equal ad- 
vantage of the sun and air, by means whereof thej 
will produce fruit better in size and quality." 

The two great practical errours which have 
hitherto prevailed, and by which fruit trees have 
suffered irreparable injury, are, 1. The season of 
the year ; and 2. The awkward and unskilful man- 
ner in which the operation has been performed. 
In general, the months of February and March 
have been considered as the preferable season for 
pruning, and not unfrequently the executioner is 
sent into the tree with his exterminating axe, 
where he commences an almost indiscriminate 
slaughter, leaving long projecting stumps, and dis- 
regarding equally the form and beauty of the tree, 
and the particular branches and spurs upon which 
the future crop principally depend. In March, 



OF FRUIT TREES. 65 

the sap is retained In the roots, and the bark ad- 
heres closely to the wood; consequently, the 
wounds occasioned by the amputation of branches 
being exposed to the cold, penetrating winds and 
frosts, before the circulation of the sap, become 
dry, rotten, and cankered, and often crack open 
nearly to the main trunk. In old orchards, par- 
ticularly, if limbs of any considerable size are lop- 
ped off, several inches from the trunk, before the 
sap is in active motion, the fresh bark round the 
wood becomes dry, large cavities are formed, 
which rapidly extend towards the trunk and heart, 
and the tree is soon deprived of its health and 
vigour. This unskilful procedure has so long been 
in practice, that it need excite no surprise, that a 
large proportion of our old orchards exhibit a mor- 
tifying, disgusting spectacle of dead branches, rotten 
stumps and hollow trunks, verging to total ruin. 
The greatest cause for surprise is that our intelli- 
gent farmers should suft'er their valuable land, year 
after year, to be encumbered with such worthless 
lumber, fit only for the resort of vermin and in- 
sects ; for It may be observed, that the more deli- 
cate feathered tribe disdain to occupy such detes- 
table ruins for the purpose of rearing their brood. 
The long life of dliFerent orchards, soil and situa- 
tion being equal, will depend, it is said, more on 
judicious pruning than on any other circumstance. 
Young trees differ much in their natural form and 
tendency, and the mode of pruning should vary 
accordingly. The peculiarity of growth, which 
characterizes each kind, is easily discovered when 
from four to five or six years old; and this is the 
most favourable period to complete what was begun 
in the nursery, for the purpose of correcting any 
natural defects in their form, and giving the proper 
direction in their future growth. The most pro- 
per season for pruning fruit trees, unquestionably is 
when the sap-juice is in active motion toward the 



64 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

extreme branches. In our New England climate, 
we have the clearest indications that the sap com- 
mences its circulation about the J 0th of April. 
From this period to about the last of May, whether 
the buds are just opening, or the blossoms fully ex- 
panded, the pruning should be accomplished. It 
would, for certain reasons, however, seem advisa- 
ble not to delay the operation after the first week 
in May, as the branches are then so charged with 
a full flow of sap, that the bark would be apt to 
peel, whereby unseemly wounds might be left, and 
canker induced : and besides, the undergrowth, 
whether grass or grain, might be so far advanced 
as to suffer injury by being trampled upon. For 
the purpose of performing this operation in a pro- 
per manner, a saw, chisel, and pruning knife, must 
be provided. It will next be requisite to have at 
hand some suitable composition to apply to the 
wounded parts, to defend against wet, cold air, or 
the scorching sun. It is immaterial whether we 
employ Forsyth's composition, or the clay as pre- 
pared for grafting, or an ointment composed of 
rosin, beeswax, and turpentine. Some prefer a 
composition of tar with a little beeswax, simmered 
together, to which some red ochre is added. This 
composition, or the abovementioned ointment, should 
be of a proper consistence to be applied to the 
wound with a knife or smooth stick, and they will ad- 
bere, and last two years without requiring to be re- 
newed. With respect to the proper method of 
pruning, no particular unexceptionable rules can be 
prescribed; much must depend on experience and 
attentive observation. It is among the most im- 
portant rules, however, not to amputate a large 
limb, close to the main trunk of a full grown tree, 
nor indeed a branch, which is too large at the 
place of excision to heal or to close over again, as 
jou may give the tree its death-wound, by opening 
an avenue to the air and water, which induce rot- 



©F FRUIT TREES. 6} 

tenness, and, in course of time, the limb or trunk 
becomes hollow, frequently to the roots. In prun- 
ing, some regard must be had to soil and climate. 
If the situation be wet and cold, trees should be 
pruned more open for the benefit of sun and air, 
which are less essential in a dry sandy soil, where 
the fruit ripens better. Winter fruit trees should 
have their branches left wider asunder than sum- 
mer fruit, as they require more warmt u of the 
sun than the latter. The general shape of old 
trees should be left substantially the same, that the 
ascending juices may continue, as much as possible, 
in their established channels. Care must be taken 
not to cut away too many large limbs at a time, lest 
too large a portion of the sap should remain inac- 
tive, and thus occasion mischief. Always prune at 
a fork, and remove the lower branch, that the 
wound may be on the lower side rather than the 
upper side. All large limbs should be cut first at 
some distance from the place where they are 
to be pruned, as the weight may peel the bark, 
and leave a bad wound ; and in order to prevent 
the same accident, the bark, on the underside, 
should be cut through before the limb is amputat- 
ed. In every instance, after sawing off the branch, 
let the bark and edges of the stump be pared close 
and smooth with a sharp knife, and immcdiatly ap- 
ply the composition so as to cover the whole sur- 
face of the wound. This is more especially neces- 
sary wlicn the operation is performed in a cold 
season, before the sap is in circulation. By this 
procedure the new growth or healing process im- 
mediately commences, and instead of an unseemly 
rotten cavity, as in the old method, the wound will, 
during the season, if not large, be completely heal- 
ed over, and the tree remain sound and floufishing. 
It is to be observed, that the fruit of the apple 
tree is produced on short, thick, side, or terminal 
shoots or spurs, from one to two or three inche«; 
9 



^ CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

long. These spurs naturally proceed from branches 
two, three, or lour years old, and as these branches 
increase in length, the fruit spurs increase in num- 
ber, and they continue to be fruitful for several 
years. Mr. Forsyth always leaves the branches 
of three different years on the tree, and thus keeps 
them in a constant bearing state; whereas, if left 
to nature, they would only produfce a crop of fruit 
once in two or three years. All old ragged spurs, 
and useless snags and twigs, should be taken off 
close to the trunk; no dead limbs should be suffer- 
ed to remain, nor even thrifty branches that have 
an irregular tendency, running inwards, and rubbing 
against each other. Such branches as intersect or 
cross each other, and thus occasion confusion in the 
crown of the tree, ought to be removed, and all 
others cleared of suckers to their very extremities; 
and indeed it will be necessary to prune out a good 
proportion of the top branches, in order to spread 
open the crow n of the tree, to admit a free circu- 
lation of air and the rays of the sun, which are es- 
sentially necessary to mature and ripen the fruit. 
Those superfluous lateral branches which grow 
irregularly, and all dead wood, should be annually 
extirpated, to give the proper bearing branches suffi- 
cient room without injuring the beauty of the tree, 
leaving the fruit branches as nearly equidistant as 
possible. Such branches as have received any 
material injury ought to be removed. If the tree 
in its first or second sap tend to shoot abundance 
of wood, the young shoots should be pinched off 
while tender, but never cut while the sap is flow- 
ing, because the tree, by cutting at that time, is 
apt to run into wood, and the blossom buds liable 
to be ii:jured by being deprived of sap. Never 
suffer a sucker to remain near the root, from one 
year to another, nor by any means upon the body 
or trunk, which is not intended to be permanent. 
Those vigorous young shoots, which often spring 



OP FRUIT TREES. 67 

from old arms, near tlie trunk, and incline to grow 
up into the head, must be annually extu'pated, lest 
they fill the tree with too much wood. A sutli- 
cient portion of fertile wood should be left in every 
part, but leave no useless branches, to exhaust the 
nutritive powers, and thereby accelerate the decay 
of the tree. Mr. Marshall, in his Rural Economy, 
observes, that " a redundancy of wood is the cause 
of numerous evils. The roots, or rather the pas- 
turage which supports them, is exhausted unpro- 
fitably ; the bearing wood robbed of part of its 
sustenance, and the natural life of the tree unneces- 
sarily shortened; while the superfluous wood, 
which is the cause of this mischief, places the tree 
in perpetual danger, by giving the winds additional 
power over it, and is injurious to the bearing wood, 
by retaining the damps, and preventing a due cir- 
culation of air. The underhanging boughs weigh 
down, especially when loaded with leaves, the fruit 
bearing branches they are preying upon, giving 
them a drooping habit, or at least preventing their 
taking, as they ought and otherwise would, an as- 
cending direction ; while those which grow within 
the head are equally injurious in crossing and chaf- 
ing the profitable branches. I'he outer surface 
only is able to mature fruit properly. Every in- 
ward and every underling branch ought therefore 
to be removed. It is no uncommon sight to see 
two or three tiers of boughs pressing down hard, 
one upon another, with their twigs so intimately 
interwoven, that, even when their leaves are off,, 
a small bird can scarcely creep in among them. 
Trees thus neglected acquire, through a want of 
ventilation and exercise, a runty, stinted habit, and 
the fruit they bear becomes of a rude, infcriour 
quality. By some, we are advised never to suffer 
apple trees to begin to head short of six or eight 
feet, for the convenience of passing under them in 
ploughing, and to admit the warming and fertilizing 



68' CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

influence of the sun and air to the undergrowth. 
But the horizontal and drooping branches are al- 
ways the most productive of fruit, and this is less 
liable to be shaken off by the wind, and is more 
conveniently gathered by hand. Those who culti- 
vate an orchard for the benefit of the fruit, must 
make the undergrowth a secondary consideratioii. 

HEADING DOWN OLD DECAYED APPLE TREES. 

According to Mr. Forsyth, when the tops of the 
branches of apple trees begin to die from old age 
or other cause, they ought immediately to be re- 
generated by giving them a new top. This is done 
by cutting off a few feet of their extremities over 
the whole tree, so as to leave it in a proper form. 
If the trunk is yet tolerably sound, the new 
branches will grow thriftily, and bear luxuriantly; 
and if you wish to vary your fruit, the sprouts, 
after one year's growth, and most frequently the 
same year, will be fit for inoculating, which suc- 
ceeds equally well in the old as in the young trees. 
In heading down old decayed apple trees for the 
sake of symmetry, it will be necessary to cut at the 
forked branches as near as can be to the upper 
side of the fork, cutting them in a sloping manner to 
carry olF the wet, and at the same time rounding 
the edges ; and if any of tlie branches should have 
the canker, all the infected parts must be cut out. 
The composition must be immediately applied, to 
prevent the sun and air from injuring the naked 
inner bark. This operation should be performed 
in April or May, and, in the course of the summer, 
long thrifty shoots will be thrown out ; these 
should not be shortened the first year, but in the 
following spring they may be cut to six or eight 
inches long, according to their strength. In the 
next spring, after the first branches are headed, the 
jemainiiig old branches may be cut out, and these 



OP FRUIT TREES. 69 

will soon fill the head oi the tree with fine bearing 
wood. In three years, if properly managed, trees 
so headed will produce more and finer fruit than a 
maiden tree that has been j.lanted upwards of 
twenty years. The method above detailed should 
be adopted with some caution, for it has been 
found, that trees will not survive the loss of all 
their branches, if lopped off in one season ; it is 
preferable, therefore, to cut and graft them partially 
every season until the whole is accomplished. 

DIRECTIONS 

For making a composition for curing diseases, defects, and inju- 
ries in all kinds of fruit and forest tree^, and the method of 
preparing the trees, and laying on the composition, by Wil- 
liam Forsyth. 

Take one bushel of fresh cow-dung, half a bush- 
el of lime rubbish of old buildings, (that from the 
ceilings of rooms is preferable) half a bushel of 
wood-ashes, and a sixteenth part of a bushel of pit 
or river sand : the three last articles are to be sift- 
ed fine before they are mixed : then work them 
well together with a spade, and afterwards with a 
wooden beater, until the stuff is very smooth, 
like fine plaster used for the ceiling of rooms. — 
The composition being thus made, care- must be 
taken to prepare the tree properly for its applica- 
tion, by cutting away all the dead, decayed, and in- 
jured parts, till you come to the fresh sound wood, 
leaving the surface of the v/ood very smooth, and 
rounding off the edges of the bark, with a draw- 
knife, or other instrument, perfectly smooth, which 
must be particularly attended to : then lay on the 
plaster about one eighth of an inch thick all over 
the part w^here the wood or bark has been so cut 
away, finishing off the edges as thin as possible : 
then take a quantity of dry powder of wood-ashes, 
mixed with a sixth part of the same quantity of 
the ashes of burnt bones : put it into a tin Idox, 
with holes in the t6p, and shake the powder on 



70 CULTURE AND ttlANAQEMENT 

the surface of the plaster till the whole is covered 
over with it, letting it remain for half an hour 
to absorb the moisture ; then apply more powder, 
rubbing it on gently witli the hand, and repeating 
the application of the powder till the whole plaster 
becomes a dry and smooth suriace. Where lime 
rubbish of old buildings cannot be easily got, take 
pounded chalk, or common lime, after having been 
slacked a month at least. 

As the best way of using the composition is found 
by experience to be in a liquid form, it must there- 
fore be reduced to the consistence of pretty thick 
paint, by mixing it up with a sufficient quantity of 
urine and soap suds, and laid on with a painter's 
brush. The powder of wood ashes and burnt bones 
is to be applied as before directed, patting it down 
with the hand. 

When trees are become hollow, you must scoop 
out all the rotten, loose, and dead parts of the trunk 
till you come to the solid wood, leaving the surface 
smooth; then cover the hollow, and every part 
where the canker has been cut out, or branches lop- 
ped oif, with the composition, and as the edges grow, 
take care not to let the new wood come in contact 
with the ' ad, part of which it may be sometimes 
necessary- it) leave; but cut out the old dead wood 
as the new advances, keeping a hollow between 
them, to allow the new wood room to extend itself, 
and thereby fill up the cavity, which it will do in 
time, so as to make, as it were, a new tree. If the 
cavity be large, you may cut away as much at one 
operation as will be sufficient for three years. But 
ill this you are to be guided by the size of the wood 
and other circumstances. When the new wood, ad- 
vancing from both sides of the wound, 1 ^s almost 
met, cut off the bark from both the edgf , that the 
solid wood may join, which, if properly i.'anaged, it 
will do, leaving only a slight seam in the bark. If 
the tree be very much decayed, do not cut away 



OF FRUIT TREES. 71 

all the dead wood at once, which would weaken the 
tree too much and endanger its being blown down 
by the wind. It will, therefore, be necessary to 
leave part of the dead wood at first to strengthen 
the tree, and to cut it out by degrees as the new 
wood is formed. If there be any canker or gum 
oozing, the infected parts must be pared off or 
cut with a proper instrument. When the stem is 
very much decayed and hollow, it will be necessary 
to open the ground and examine the roots ; then 
proceed as directed for hollow peach trees. 

By using the composition in a liquid state, more 
than three fourths of the time and labour is saved; 
and I find it is not so liable to be thrown off as the 
lips grow, as when laid on in the consistence of 
plaster : it adheres firmly to the naked part of the 
wound, and yet easily gives way as the new wood 
and bark advance. 

In his introduction to the American edition of 
Forsyth, Mr. W. Cobbett says, "During the last 
summer, (1801,) I went with a party of friends to 
be an eye-witness of the effects (of which I had 
heard such wonders related) of this gentleman's 
mode of cultivating and curing trees ; and though 
my mind had received a strong prepossession in its 
favour, what I saw very far surpassed my expecta- 
tions. Mr. Forsyth, whose book was not then pub- 
lished, did us the favour to show us the manuscript 
of it, and also the drawings for the plates, which 
are now to be found at the end of the work. After 
having read those parts of the manuscript which 
more immediately referred to the drawings, we 
went into the gardens, and there saw every tree 
which the drawings were intended to represent, and 
of which we found them to be a most exact repre- 
sentation. We examined these trees from the o-round 
to the topmost branches ; we counted the joints in 
the wood ; ascertained the time and extent of its 
growth : and, in short, verified every fact that the 



72 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

book related. To raise fine, flourishing wood from 
an old, cankered, gummy, decayed stem; to raise as 
much wood on that stem in three years as could 
have been raised on the finest young tree in twelve 
years; to take the rotten wood from the trunk ; to 
replace it with sound wood, actually to fill up the 
hollow, and of a mere shell to make a full, round, 
and solid trunk ; all this seems incredible, but of all 
this we saw indubitable proof." In the work just 
referred to, we have the valuable observations of 
Peter W. Yates, esquire, of Albany, respecting For- 
syth's treatise, as follow : " Mr. Forsyth's treatise 
is well calculated to rouse the care and attention of 
gentlemen on this side the Atlantick, to the cultiva- 
tion and management of fruit trees. The perusal 
of his pamphlet, London edition, 1791, afforded him 
both satisfaction and astonishment. To renovate 
diseased trees fast hastening to decay, and to in- 
crease the quantity and meliorate the quality of the 
fruit, in the way prescribed by him, seemed almost 
incredible." But Mr. Y. was induced to make the 
experiment. Accordingly in May, 1796, he adopt- 
ed the mode of process prescribed by Forsyth, on 
a young bearing (bonecretien) pear tree, the bark 
of which, as well as the alburnum or sapwood, and 
the heart wood, were dead from the ground up- 
wards about five feet. He cut away all the dead 
part, leaving nothing but the bark on the opposite 
side, and applied the composition. The effects were 
soon visible : the external part of the wound, which 
composed about one third part of the trunk, was in 
a i'cw days surrounded by a callus or lip, which 
continued to increase until the sap-flow was obstruct- 
ed and stagnated by the next autumnal frost ; but 
by the subsequent annual flow of the juices, the 
callus increased so as to fill the wounded part with 
new wood. The old and new wood united, and is 
covered with new bark. In many other instances, 
lie made similar experiments on various kinds ol" 



©F FRUIT TREES, 73 

fruit trees with satisfactory success. He is, there- 
fore, of opinion, that Forsyth's remedy alFords a radi- 
cal cure for diseases, defects, and injuries in all kinds 
of fruit trees, and that in pruning, especially where 
large amputations are made, the composition ought 
always to be applied, as it prevents the exuding of 
the vegetable juices through the wounded parts, 
aids and precipitates the healing of the wounds, 
promotes the vigour and health of the trees, and 
adds to the size and flavour of the fruit. 

The composition of Mr. Forsyth does not, at this 
day, sustain such high reputation as formerly. It 
is not supposed to possess great efficacy as a medica- 
ment when applied to diseased trees; and for the 
purpose of defence against wet and heat, it is not 
perhaps preferable to an ointment composed of ro- 
sin, beeswax, and turpentine. It is probable, that 
a composition consisting of clay, tempered with 
horse dung and urine, would be found of equal utili- 
ty. We are not unacquainted with instances of 
surgeons acquiring great celebrity by the applica- 
tion of certain medicaments to old ulcers, when in 
verity the cure was effected by the eiforts of na- 
ture. 



MEANS or PRESERVING THE HEALTH AND VIGOUR OF 
FRUIT TREES. 

To promote the health and vigour of fruit trees, 
Mr. Forsyth recommends the following method, and 
it has been practised in our country with the most 
decided advantage. Take any quantity of urine and 
soap suds, and add fresh cow dung, and a little slack- 
ed lime, sufficient to bring it to the consistence of 
very thick white-wash or paint. After having 
removed all cankery parts, and scraped off the 
rough bark or moss from the trees, this mixture is 
to be applied to the stems and branches with a 
brush, in the same manner as the ceiling or walls gf 
10 



74 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

a room are white-washed. This, if done in March 
or April annually, will eflectually destroy the eggs 
of insects, and prevent moss from growing on the 
trunk and branches; it will also contribute to the 
nourishment of the tree, and render the bark heal- 
thy, so that in the course of the first or second sum- 
mer, a fine new bark of a fresh and green ap 
pearance, takes the place qf the old one. If this 
application be repeated in autumn, after the fall of 
the leaves, it will have a salutary tendency in de- 
stroying the eggs of numerous insects that hatch in 
autumn and winter. For the same purpose of For- 
syth's mixture, white-washing with lime has been 
practised, and found very beneficial in producing 
rimilar good effects. The application of strong, 
undiluted soft soap is employed by Mr. Ogden, of 
Flushing, Long Island. The soap applied by means 
of a brush, destroys the moss and softens the bark, 
and, when washed off by rain, acts as a manure to 
the roots. When Mr. O. began this process, his 
trees were covered with moss and old scaly bark, 
and bore bad crops ; but in two years all the old 
bark dropped off, and the trunks became as smooth 
as a young poplar. The soaping may be done at 
any season, and repeated, if necessary. 

A correspondent of the Caledonian horticultural 
society, (Scotland,) recommends clay paint for the 
destruction of insects, and the mildew on fruit trees. 
The instructions are, that you take a quantity of 
the most tenacious brown clay that can be obtained; 
diffuse among it as much soft water as will bring it 
to the consistence of soft cream or paint ; pass it 
through a fine sieve, so that it may be made per- 
fectly smooth and unctuous, and freed from any 
gritty particles. With a painter's brush dipped in 
the clay paint, go carefully over the whole tree, 
not excepting the young shoots. This layer, when 
it becomes dry, forms a hard crust, which, envelop- 



OP FRUIT TREES. 75 

ing the insects closely, completely destroys them 
without doing the smallest injury either to the bark 
or buds. 

Whatever promotes a free circulation of the sap, 
as cleaning the bark from scales, and scraping it to 
make it tender and yielding; and whatever helps to 
perfect the maturation of the sap in the leaves of 
the tree, by giving them a full exposure to the sun 
and air, as by cutting out the central branches when 
the head is too bushy, and giving it an expanded 
form, promotes the growth, general health, and 
productiveness of the tree. 

In case the trees are observed to be hide-bound, 
as it is termed, when the bark cracks by reason of 
the stem growing faster than the bark, it will be 
necessary to pass the point of a knife perpendicu- 
larly through the outer bark only, from the ground 
as high as the branches, taking care not to injure 
the inner bark. It not unfrequently happens, that 
from the intense rays of the sun of summer, striking 
nearly at right angles, the sap on the south side of 
the trees becomes so coagulated as to occasion the 
death of the bark; canker ensues, and finally, the 
tree itself is entirely destroyed. As a remedy for 
this serious evil, a coat of the abovementioned clay 
paint, or Forsyth's composition, it is presumed will 
prove effectual. 



MEANS OF PREVENTING THE FLOWERS AND FRUIT FALL- 
ING OFF, AND OF RETARDING THEIR OPENING. 

The means proposed to retard the opening of 
flowers, consist m making, in the autumn, a ligature 
on the stems of the young trees ; that compression 
slackens the motion of the sap's rising, and the tree 
blossoms the later. Fruits are also liable to fall oif 
as well as flowers. We see trees, which, after hav- 
ing had a great abundance of flowers, are covered 
with young fruit, that promises the most plentiful 



76 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

crop; but it sometimes happens that they almost 
all drop off. This accident is too frequent with apple 
and pear trees. The way to remedy this inconve- 
nience, is, to sprinkle the root or foot of the trees, 
when they are in blossom, with five or six buckets 
of water; and to preserve the humidity, the bottom 
must be covered with straw, which prevents too 
hasty an evaporation of the water: by these mean» 
the flowers and buds are preserved from falling off. 



DISEASES AND OTHER INCFDENTS WHICH RENDER FRUIT 
TREES UNPRODUCTIVE. 

All the maxims relative to fruit trees, it is said, 
centre in the word health. The great object of the 
fruit farmer, says Marshall, is to produce a crop 
every year; and nothing is more likely to obtain it, 
than keeping the trees in perfect health, and en- 
deavouring to prevent their bearing beyond their 
strength, in a general fruit year. The enemies of 
fruit trees, says the author, are a redundancy of 
wood, moss, spring frosts, blights, insects, an excess 
of fruit, old age. To these should be added canker. 
Some of them are beyond human reach, but most 
of them are within the control of art. The term 
blight is of vague signification. Black blighting winds 
are talked of every where, but no definite idea is 
any where affixed to the expression. That corn 
and fruit become unproductive without any visible 
cause, and that fruit trees are liable to be infected 
with insects, are certainly facts. But whether in- 
sects be the cause or the effect of blights, does not 
appear to be yet settled. With respect to blights, 
all the assistance which art can render, is to keep 
the trees in a state of healthfulness, and prevent, 
as much as possible, an excess of fruit. As old age 
cannot be prevented, we have only to consider how 
the productiveness of trees may be protracted. I 
have seen, says he, healthy bearing apple trees 



OP FRUIT TREES. 77 

which now wear their second top. The first tops 
being worn out, were cut off", and the stumps saw- 
grafted. Sometimes we see trees so far gone in 
decay, that their productiveness no longer repay* 
their incumbrance of the soil. How injudicious, in 
such case, is the conduct of the proprietor, who 
permits such trees to remain year after year, im- 
bibing and wasting the substance of his soil ! Moss 
is chiefly, perhaps, owing to the nature of the soil, 
and cannot be altogether prevented; but it may in 
most cases, be checked, and its evil eifects in a great 
measure avoided. " I have seen several orchards," 
observes our author, " in which the trees were al- 
most entirely subdued by this vegetable vermin. 
Some of the trees with, perhaps, only one bough 
left alive, and others entirely killed, and yet suffer- 
ed to remain, an incumbrance to the ground, and a 
disgrace to the country." It would appear, by the 
above observations of Mr. M., that the same culpa- 
ble neglect in the management of fruit trees prevails 
in England as in our own country. 

Blight, says another writer, means, the effects of 
cold winds, or hoar-frosts on the foliage and blos- 
soms of trees. Easterly winds, accompanied with 
fogs, often produce blights ; the buds are nipped, 
and the tender vessels burst, innumerable insects 
isoon appear, and the branches become withered. 
" By accident," says Dr. Mease, " Mr. Cooper of 
New Jersey, discovered some years since, that a 
tree upon which a number of iron hoops and other 
articles of iron had been hung, remained free from 
blight, while all the rest suffered severely. Since 
that year he has constantly encircled two or three 
branches of every tree with an iron hoop, and with 
uniform success. As a proof, he pointed out one 
tree with a withered limb near the top, and ob- 
served, that he had neglected to defend it last year. 
Philosophers may speculate as to the theory of the 
operation of the iron, and cause of the blast, but 



78 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

practical men will be contented with a knowledge 
of the important fact, which comes from a man of 
judgment and of an observing disposition, who has 
again and again satisfied himself that no deception 
or accidental circumstance occurred, by reference 
to which the preservation of his hooped trees could 
be accounted for." 



CANKER. 

Apple trees are very liable to be atfected with 
the canker. This disease occasions the bark to 
grow rough and scabby, and turns the wood affect- 
ed to a rusty brown colour ; and if no remedy be 
applied, will in time kill the tree. It is by some 
described as a sort of gangrene, which usually be- 
gins at the extremities of the branches, and pro- 
ceeds towards the trunk, killing the tree in two or 
three years. Peter \ates, esquire, of Albany, ob- 
serves, that his fruit trees became affected with 
the canker, generally appearing on the southwest 
side of the body or trunk of the tree. The bark of 
the infected part at first appeared dark, and at 
length rough, wrinkled, cracked, and dead. The in- 
fection annually increased; it communicated to the 
alburnum or sap wood ; the circulation of the sap- 
juice was obstructed ; it gradually diminished ; it 
stagnated ; and the tree perished. The general opi- 
nion respecting the cause of this disease is, that it 
proceeds chiefly from the nature of the soil. Mr. 
Forsyth, however, proves from experience, that it 
originates from the following circumstances, name- 
ly: injudicious pruning; leaving the footstalks of 
fruit on trees after it has been gathered; bruises, 
arising from the use of ladders in collecting fruit; 
and dead shoots, left on trees during the summer. 
But, says Mr. Yates, " it seems extraordinary, that 
the fruit trees in this climate are almost invariably 
affected on the southwest side of the trunk or body 



OF FRUIT TREES. 79 

of the treeis. There it generally commences, and 
continues to increase annually, until the infection is 
communicated to the limbs. If I might be per- 
mitted to hazard an opinion, I would account for it 
as follows : That it is caused by the hot rays of 
the meridian sun, which in that direction is most 
poweri'ul, and strikes the tree nearly at right an- 
gles. The south side of trees grows faster, for 
there the vegetation is more rapid, than the north: 
this may be seen by the concentrick rings of a tree 
when cut or sawed into logs. Fruit trees gene- 
rally incline to the northeast, which exposes their 
trunks to the influence of that luminary in the 
spring, when the sap-juice is subject to alternate 
freezing and thawing. The motion of the sap 
(which ascends in the vernal months in all deci- 
duous trees) is accelerated by the hot rays of the 
sun at southwest. It is retarded and stagnated in 
the cool of the nights, whereby the irritability of 
the vegetable vessels is decreased for want of a 
sufficient stimulus of heat ; and by this alternate 
thawing and freezing of the sap-juice, and particu- 
larly on the southv/est side of the tree, where the 
sun's rays are most powerful, the vegetation is at 
last destroyed, and mortification ensues." It fre- 
quently happens, that scions for grafting are taken 
from infected trees ; and the young trees produced 
in this way are, as might be expected, peculiarly 
obnoxious to the disease. From whatever cause 
the canker may arise, Mr. Forsyth directs all the 
diseased parts to be cut out with a sharp instru- 
ment ; and if the inner white bark be affected, this 
also must be cut away, until no appearance of in- 
fection remains. The composition must then be 
applied. This method Mr. Yates has found by 
experience to prove effectual. (See directions for 
making and laying on the composition, page 69.) 
Mr. Cooper, of New Jersev, has found the best 



•© CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

remedy for canker to be a composition of rosin, 
tallow, and beeswax, of a proper consistence to 
itick, after taking oif all the dead parts. 

MOSS, AND SCALY BARK, AND DECORTICATION. 

Fruit trees, in all soils, and in all situations, are 
liable to have their trunks covered with moss, and 
their bark rough and scaly. Besides the unseemly 
appearance, fruit trees suffer much injury by these 
causes, if suffered to continue without a remedy. 
The moss is easily removed by scraping with the 
back of a knife, and rubbing with a cloth, after a 
rain, or in damp weather ; and the scaly bark may 
with equal facility be scraped off with a hoe or 
knife. This operation should be performed every 
spring, and immediately after, the trunks and larger 
branches should receive a proper coat of some of 
the compositions already mentioned. Either the 
washing with the liquids, or the application of un- 
diluted soap, (see page 74) will effectually remove 
any remains of moss, and, if occasionally repeated, 
the health and vigour of the trees will be re- 
stored, and in two years the bark will appear fresh 
and smooth. In some diseased condition of the 
bark of apple trees, the experiment of disbarking 
the whole trunk from the ground to the branches,, 
has been successfully practised. Dr. S. L. Mitchell, 
of New York, in the summer of 1799, deprived 
the whole body of one of his apple trees of the 
bark, without injury to its leaves or fruit; and in 
two months an entire new coat of bark was found 
surrounding the wood on every side. Dr. M., 
however, observes, that though he has several 
times been witness of the harmlessness of the prac- 
tice, it looked to him still like a very violent and 
hazardous remedy. This sort of decortication is 
by no means a novelty. Many ancient writers 
have observed, that in cases where the outer bark 



OP FRUIT TREES. 81* 

}ias become rough and full of chinks, so that small 
insects deposit their eggs and produce their larva) 
below this bark, it is a good practice entirely to re- 
move it. Of late years, Mr. Knight practised de- 
cortication on some old fruit trees, particularly red- 
streak apples, and found the new growth thus pro- 
duced quite surprising, so that the growth of some 
trees, deprived of their bark in 1801, exceeded in 
the summer of 1802 the increase of the five pre- 
ceding years taken together. This method has 
been adopted in various parts of New England, some- 
times with complete success, and again, the result 
has been the entire destruction of the trees. This 
failure is attributed, by an ingenious writer in the 
Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, to a want 
of skill in the operator ; observing, that he has seen 
a young apple tree in the town of Hallowell, which, 
on account of some defect, was stripped of its 
bark about ten years prior to his writing, the 
longest day of June, and which still lives and bears 
fruit. Much of its success, it is said, depends on 
the proper time and manner of performing the ope- 
ration. It should be done while the tree is in the 
full flow of sap, about the middle of June, or on 
the longest day of that month, and the bark should 
be peeled off entirely smooth to the alburnum. It 
is scarcely probable, however, that our farmers 
will be disposed to resort to this troublesome and 
uncertain expedient, when the milder methods 
above described will answer every purpose. 

Fruit trees are liable to have their bark torn off 
by field mice, sheep, and various accidents : to re- 
medy which, take some strips of bark from a tree 
of the same species, about two or three inches in 
width, and place four or five of them, according to 
the size of the wound, perpendicularly round the 
naked part. The edges of the torn bark being cut 
imooth, the sound bark should be a little raised, 
and the slips inserted beneath it to promote the 
11 



82 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

circulation of the sap. The slips are next to be 
bound quite tight with rope-yarn, and the compo- 
sition of Forsyth, or a mixture of loam and cow- 
dung, must be applied, and this covered with a 
coarse cloth. This method of treatment has been 
successfully practised ; the slips adhere closely, 
and, being full of sap, soon become firm and smooth. 
Instead of bark slips, small twigs may be success- 
fully applied in a similar manner. 



SPRING FROSTS, AND OTHER CAUSES AFFECTING THE 
BLOSSOMS. 

Every cultivator of fruit trees has experienced 
more or less disappointment in his expected crop of 
apple, pear, and other fruit trees, after having ex- 
hibited the fairest prospect in the vernal season. 
While in full blossom, and the fruit just beginning to 
form, the petals are cast off, like the dead leaves in 
autumn. This incident is said to be occasioned by 
warm and drying winds, by which the vigour of the 
trees is diminished. In one instance it appears that 
a remedy has been successfully applied, and the loss 
and inconvenience prevented. J. Sowerby, esquire, 
in the spring of 1815, observed that the drying 
winds generally succeeded the blossoming of his 
fruit trees ; the whole used to be blown off about 
the time of the setting of the young fruit. Deem- 
ing it probable that a good dose of water at the 
roots would strengthen the tree, and save the fruit, 
the experiment was tried, and the good effect was 
perceived in twenty-four hours; the young fruit 
then resisted the attack of the winds, and a large 
crop was produced. Not only were the trees ena- 
bled to produce their fruit in abundance, but also to 
increase them in size to nearly double. The blos- 
soms of apple trees are liable to be injured or de- 
stroyed by various other causes; as severe cold, a 
hazy state of the atmosphere, frosts, and insects of 



OP FRUIT TREES. 83 

various kinds ; and Mr. Knight has remarked, that 
they also fail frequently from want of impregnation 
when the weather is unusually hot and dry, or when 
cold winds prevail, as he often observed the farina 
to wither and die on the antherae in such seasons. 

Spring frosts are an enemy, against which per- 
haps it is most difficult to guard orchard trees. " Dry 
frosts," says Marshall, " are observed to have no 
other effects than keeping the blossoms back ; con- 
sequently, are frequently serviceable to fruit trees. 
But wet frosts, namely, frosts after a rain, or a fog- 
gy air, and before the trees have had time to dry, 
are very injurious even to the buds. An instance 
is mentioned, in which a flying hazy shower in the 
evening was succeeded by a smart frost ; that side 
of the trees, against which the haze drove, was en- 
tirely cut off, while the opposite side, which had 
escaped the moisture, likewise escaped the effect of 
the frost. Much, however, may depend on the 
strength of the blossoms. When the buds form, 
and the blossoms break forth with unusual vigour, 
they are enabled by their own strength to set com- 
mon enemies at defiance. But, on the contrary, 
when the blossoms sicken in the bud, and those 
which open are weak and languid, scarcely an ap- 
ple will be produced. The assistance, therefore, 
required from art, in this case, is by keeping the 
trees in a healthy^ vigorous state, to enable them to 
throw out a strength of bud and blossom ; and by 
keeping them thin of wood, to give them an oppor- 
tunity of drying quickly before the frost sets in.'^ 
Apple blossoms are, in some seasons, injured by the 
devastations of an uncommon number of insects pro- 
duced from a species of black flies, Avhich deposit 
their eggs in the bud at its first opening, and which, 
by feeding on the heart of the bud, soon occasion it 
to contract and drop. To remedy this fatal effect, 
we are advised to collect heaps of long dung, wet' 
straw, weeds, &c., to dispose them in diiferent parts 



84 CULTURE AND HAKAGBMENT 

of the orchard, and set fire to the heaps in that 
quarter from which the wind blows, so that the 
smoke may thoroughly fumigate all the trees. Thus 
the insects, which are supposed to be brought by 
the wind, will be prevented from depositing their 
eggs. 

CANKER WORM. 

Of all the numerous tribes of insects which in- 
fest fruit trees, and disappoint the hopes of the cul- 
tivator, the canker worm, during the years of its 
prevalence, is the most to be dreaded. This de- 
structive insect has, therefore, baffled the efforts of 
man, and, in despite of all means of prevention as 
yet devised, commits its depredations, and deprives 
whole orchards of foliac^e and fruit. The miller, 
or moth, rises from the earth in the spring, conceals 
itself during the day in holes and crevices under the 
loose bark of apple trees, and may be easily found 
by searching. The male has wings, but the female 
appears to have none ; they are enabled, however, 
to ascend the trunk of the tree, and crawl towards 
the extremities of the twigs, where they deposit 
their eggs, and as soon as the leaves unfold and 
sprout forth, the worm bursts from the eg^ and 
commences its ravages. The worms soon spin for 
themselves long threads, similar to those of spiders, 
by which they are suspended in the air, and wafted 
by the wind from tree to tree, and from one ad- 
joining orchard to another, preying voraciously upon 
the foliage, and giving the trees the appearance of 
being burnt. Professor Peck, of Cambridge, has 
favoured the publick with the most satisfactory 
history of this insect, which has yet appeared. Ac- 
cording to him, the worms descend by the trunks 
of the trees in June, and immure themselves in the 
earth near the trunks, and rarely, if ever, more 
than three to four feet distant ; in grass land from 



OF FRUIT TREES. B5 

one to four inches deep, and in ploughed land not 
more than to the depth of seven or eight inches. 
He has also ascertained that a part of the canker 
moths rise in the autumn and deposit their eggs. 
They are such as were an inch or two below the 
surface ; those which lie deeper are not affected by 
the transient changes of the atmosphere in Novem- 
ber, and do not rise till the spring. The chrysalis 
state comes in twenty-four hours after the larvae 
has penetrated the earth, and it appears that the 
insects are soon perfect, since a course of warm 
weather has been found to raise some of them from 
the earth in November. Those which rise in No- 
vember are not very numerous, compared with 
those which rise in the spring, but being very pro- 
lifick, are exceedingly injurious, if no means are 
taken to prevent their ascending the trees ; as the 
winter's frost does not kill the eggs. The warmth 
of the season at the time of the descent into the 
soil is favourable to the perfect development of the 
insect in the chrysalis, particularly those which are 
nearest the surface, while those at the depth of 
six or seven inches are longer in coming to maturi- 
ty. The first are perfect in September, and re- 
quire only to be excited to burst from their con- 
finement ; but they cannot be excited until they 
have passed through a degree of cold sufficient to 
make them sensible of the mild temperature of the 
atmosphere which occurs in November. The ex- 
citability of such as lie deeper, and are not accessi- 
ble by cold till a later period of the season, is not 
30 soon accumulated, nor are they sensible of slight 
changes of temperature, which affect only the sur- 
face ; they, therefore, do not leave the earth till 
the spring, when the warmth of the air is longer 
continued, and penetrates to the depth at which 
they lie. To prevent the dreadful ravages of the 
canker worm, the great object is to keep the female 
irom ascending the trees. For this purpose vari- 



86 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ous methods have been proposed. A writer in 
Carey's American Museum, August, 1792, says, 
" Canker worms never destroy apple trees which 
stand on a stiff clay, or in low ground, where water 
stands long in the spring. The reason for this is 
obvious. The canker worm, about the 10th of 
June, descends into the earth, there to lie till the 
next spring, when the miller rises and ascends the 
trees. This worm is not strong, nor furnished with 
the necessary implements for digging into a hard 
stiff clay ; of course it cannot bury itself in clay, and 
is not fond of gravel. The writer therefore pro- 
poses to lay a covering of stiff clay round trees which 
stand on sand or other light enrth. This covering 
or layer may be thrown upon the top of the natural 
soil, which may be removed to the depth of a few 
inches. If the clay be laid on in summer, after the 
descent of the worm, it may prevent the miller from 
rising in ihe spring ; if when the worm is upon the 
tree, it may prevent its finding a lodging ; but as in 
the latter case, the worm might travel some dis- 
tance beyond the limits of the layer, it might be bet- 
ter to form the layer round the tree after the de- 
scent of the worm in June." 

According to Dr. Dean's New England Farmer, 
it is now about eighty years since New England 
was first visited by these destructive insects. He 
observes, if any person could invent some easy, 
cheap, and effectual method of subduing them, he 
would merit the thanks of the publick, and more 
especially of every owner of an orchard. Several 
methods have been tried with some degree of suc- 
cess. 1. Tarring. A strip of canvass is put round 
the body of the tree, before the ground is open in 
the spring, and well smeared with tar. The fe- 
males, in attempting to pass over it, stick fast and 
perish. But unless the tarring be renewed very 
frequently, it will become hard, and permit the in- 
sects to pass safely over it. And renewing the 



■,i\ 



OF FRUIT TREES. 87 

far in season is too apt to be neglected, through 
hurry of business and forgetfulness. The insects 
are so amazingly prohfick, that if ever so few of 
them get up, a tree is ruined, at least for the en- 
suing season. 2. The pasturing of swine in an or- 
chard Dr. Dean supposes to be an excellent me- 
thod, where it can conveniently be done. With 
their snouts and their feet they will destroy many 
of the insects before they come out of the ground ; 
and he has never known any orchard constantly 
used as a hog-pasture, wholly destroyed, or even 
made wholly unfruitful by worms. But this me- 
thod cannot always be taken ; and if it could, he 
does not suppose it would be quite effectual. He 
considers tarring as the preferable antidote, and 
gives the following directions for applying the arti- 
cle in the most effectual manner. 

In the first place, it is necessary to begin the ope- 
ration very early in the year. Not observing this 
caution has occasioned the want of success which 
many have complained of; for it is certain that the 
bugs will begin to pass up as soon as the ground is 
so much thawed, that they can extricate them- 
selves ; which is, in some years, as early as Feb- 
ruary. Therefore, to make sure vv^ork, it is best 
to begin as soon as the ground is bare of snow in 
that month, that the first thawing of the ground 
may not happen before the trees are prepared; 
for beginning after ever so few of the insects have 
gone up, the labour will all be lost. Another 
thing to be observed is, to fill the crevices of the 
bark with clay mortar before the strip of linen or 
canvass is put on, that the insects may not find any 
passages for them under it. Having put on the 
strip, which should be at least three inches wide, 
drawn it close, and strongly fastened the ends to- 
gether, a thumb-rope of tow should be tied round 
the tree, close to the lower edge of the strip. 
The design of doing this is, that the tar may not 



88 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

drip, nor run down on the bark of the tree, which 
would injure it. When all the trees of an orchard 
are thus prepared, let the strips be plentifully 
smeared with cold tar, put on with a brush. It 
should be renewed once a day without fail. The 
best time is soon after sun-set, because the insects 
are wont to pass up in the evening;, and the tar 
will not harden so much in the night as in the day, 
because of the dampness of the air. The daily 
task must be renewed, and performed with the 
greatest care, till the latter end of May, or till the 
time when the hatching of the worms is commonly 
over, which will be earlier or later, according to 
the diiference of climate. 

Another mode of tarring, and which bids fair to 
be preferred to the foregoing, is as follows : Take 
two pretty wide pieces of board ; plane them ; 
make semicircular notches in each, fitting them to 
the stem or body of the tree ; and fasten them to- 
gether securely at the ends, so that the most vio- 
lent winds and storms may not displace nor stir 
them. The crevices betwixt the boards and the 
tree may be easily stopped with rags or tow : 
then smear the under sides of the boards with 
tar. The tar being defended from the direct rays 
of the sun, will hold its tenacity the longer, and, 
therefore, will not need to be frequently renewed ; 
and the trees may be secured more in this way 
from the dripping of the tar, as a margin oi two 
or three inches, next to the tree, may be left un- 
smeared. 

" The remedy of tarring," says professor Peck, 
^* was probably first suggested by the structure of 
the female insect, which, happily for man, has no 
wings. If this remedy were diligently and univer- 
sally used, it would very likely rid us of this pest ; 
it must, indeed, be granted, at a considerable ex- 
pense. But the negligence of many will counter- 
act the vigilance of a few, whatever remedy may 



OP FRUIT TRMIS. 89 

be proposed or discovered. Mr. P. recomraends, 
1st. Turning up the ground carefully in October, 
as far as the branches of a tree extend, to half a 
spade's depth or five inches, so as completely to 
invert the surface. A great number of chrysalids 
would thus be exposed to the air and sun, and of 
course be destroyed. 2dly. Breaking the clods and 
smoothing the surface with a rake, and passing a 
heavy roller over it, so as to make it very hard, 
and without cracks. By these two operations eve- 
ry vestige of their downward path would be com- 
pletely obliterated, and if any remained undisturb- 
ed below the stratum of earth which has been 
turned up, they must remain there, as it is utterly 
impossible for them to force their way in the moth 
•or miller state, through such an obstruction as this 
layer of earth would oppose to them. In grass 
grounds the sods should be turned with the grass 
side down, and placed side by side, so as to be roll- 
ed ; the earth from which they were taken should 
be loosed and rolled also. It is probable, that with 
this treatment no moths would rise in the fall. The 
winter's frosts would heave and crack the smooth 
surface, but it might be smoothed and hardened by 
the roller or other means, in March, with much less 
trouble, time, and expense, than the long course of 
tarring requires. As lime, when slacked, is reduced 
to an impalpable powder, and is thus well adapted 
to close the least openings in the surface to which 
it may be washed by rains, Mr. P. is inclined to 
think its good effects are produced in this way aa 
well as by its caustiik quality." 

Mr. Kenrick's method of destroying the Canker Worm. 

John Kenrick, esquire, of Newton, proposes as 
follows : From any time in June, after the worms 
have entirely disappeared, until the 20th of Octo- 
ber, let the whole of the soil surrounding the trees, 
12 



90 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

to the extent at least of four feet from the trunk, 
and to a suitable depth, be dug up and carted away 
to a distance from any trees the canker worms are 
in the habit of feeding upon ; and let there be re- 
turned an equal quantity of compost, or rich earth 
intermixed with manure. The earth taken from 
the trees, will make a substantial ingredient in 
compost. If a few straggling canker worms appear 
on any of the trees the spring following, let such 
trees be marked, that the operation may be repeat- 
ed the succeeding summer. The process proposed 
will not only accelerate the growth, and increase 
the fruitfulness of the trees, but will prove a con- 
siderable guard to them against the depredations 
of moles in the winter following; advantages which 
will abundantly outweigh the whole expense. But 
the pre-eminent advantage obtained, will be to have 
captured those destructive invaders, broken up 
and completely destroyed their encampments. 
Annual tarring, the only remedy in general use, 
instead of being beneficial to the trees, is allowed 
on all hands to be injurious. The seasons being 
variable, it requires considerable care and skill to 
know when to begin ; if one day too late, some of 
the canker moths will have ascended the trees; 
if four days too early, so much labour and tar 
are lost. The same difficulty occurs in knowing 
when to cease tarring. The business must be 
attended to exactly in the right time, whether 
it rain or shine, and the operation repeated 
considerably more than twenty times in every 
season ; and the average of various estimates of 
the annual expense of tarring each tree amounts 
to fullten cents. The method I have proposed, 
says Mr. K., appears to be perfectly adapted to 
the convenience of the practical farmer. He will 
avoid the trouble and expense of purchasing and 
applying tar, lime, or any other article ; he can 
perform the operation when most at leisure, and 



OP FRUIT TKEES. 91 

witli a certain prospect of ample reward for his 
labour, even if no damage were apprehended from 
the canker worm ; and if the operation is perform- 
ed in June, he can raise a crop of potatoes round 
the trees the first season. Hence it is obvious, 
that several very important advantages will be ob- 
tained in addition to the prime object ; and the 
Erudent farmer, who adopts this method, will 
ave in view the most, if not the whole, of the fol- 
lowing distinct objects : 

1. Extermination of the canker worms. 

2. Growth of the trees. 

3. Fruitfulness of the trees. 

4. Defence against the moles. 

5. Several crops of potatoes. 

6. Manufacture of compost. 

Mr. Kenrick never having had any canker worm* 
on his farm, could not personally prove the efficacy 
of the method proposed, by actual experiment. But 
it should be strongly recommended to the attention 
of cultivators of orchards, and it is hoped the pub- 
lick may be made acquainted with tne result of 
every trial. 

John Lowell, esquire, (Mass. Agricul. Repos.) 
observes, that " the expense of tarring an orchard 
for several years, together with the injury sustain- 
ed by the trees in the common mode of doing it, 
will be nearly equivalent to a total loss. The im- 
provements, introduced by Mr. Parsons, and other 
cultivators, of surrounding the trees with canvass 
and rope-yarn, and stopping the descent of the tar 
by a bandage of coarse hemp, together with the 
mixture of the tar with oil, so as to keep it longer 
in a soft state, have very much diminished the in- 
convenience of the old practice. Still much re- 
mains to be desired. The process is imperfect, un- 
less performed as faithfully in the fall as in the 
spring. If your neighbours are inattentive, you 
may be subjected to this labour for ten or twenty 



92 CULTURE AND M^NAGEMEMT 

years, and your orchards will scarcely pay the con- 
tinued and accumulated expense. Something fur- 
ther seems to be desirable ; some mode more sim- 
ple, less expensive, more effectual. In the southern 
states, I perceive, some persons are still ignorant of 
the natural history of this insect, and regret that it 
has not been examined and described by scientifick 
men. We have nothing left to be desired on this 
head. The description of the canker worm, "by 
professor Peck, is very satisfactory, and only leaves 
us to regret that the same ingenuity could not have 
devised some speedy, simple mode of extirpating or 
checking them. Until some effectual mode is dis- 
covered, I think we should make constant experi- 
ments, and communicate fully the results, in the 
hope that if our trials shall not prove in every case 
successful, they may stimulate others to more hap- 
py ones. 

" I had understood that Mr. Josiah Knapp, of Bos- 
ton, was induced to try the effect of air-slacked lime. 
He put it round one of his trees in the spring of 
1814, and I have been assured, not only by him, 
but by another respectable friend who examined it, 
that it was fully successful. The tree was in a 
small garden in Boston, surrounded with other trees, 
which were filled with the worms, and this one 
wholly escaped, except that a few appeared to have 
attacked its extremities, where they were interlock- 
ed with the other trees. I mentioned this fact to 
a Rhode Island gentleman, who informed me that, 
ill that state, they had used the rubbish collected 
from the breaking of flax, and it had effectually pre- 
vented the rise of the insect. I resolved to make 
the experiment of lime on an extensive scale. As 
the insects rise in the fall, I determined to put the 
lime on in autumn. For this purpose I nad the 
turf dug in around sixty apple trees, and the earth 
laid smooth. I then took three hogsheads of effete 
or air-slacked lime, and strewed it an inch thick 



OF FRUIT TREES. 93 

round my trees, to the extent of about two or three 
feet from the roots, so that the whole diameter of 
the opening was from four to six feet. I tarred 
these trees as well as the others, and although I 
had worms or grubs on most that were not limed, 
I did not catch a single grub where the trees were 
limed. I do not mean to speak with confidence ; I 
am, however, strongly encouraged 'to believe the 
remedy perfect. It was ascertained by professor 
Peck, that the insect seldom descended into the 
ground at a greater distance than three or four feet 
from the trunk, and to the depth of four inches, or 
that the greater part come within that distance. 
The lime is known to be destructive to all animal 
substances, and I have little doubt that it actually 
decomposes and destroys the insect in the chrysalis 
state ; at least, I hope this is the case. There are 
many reasons which should encourage the repeti- 
tion of this experiment. The digging round the 
trees is highly useful to them, while tarring is very 
injurious. The expense is not great ; a man can 
dig round fifty large trees in one day. The lime is 
a most salutary manure to the trees. After the 
spot has been once opened and limed, the labour 
of keeping it open will not be great. Three 
hogsheads of air-slacked lime, or sweepings of a 
lime store, will suffice for fifty trees, and will cost 
three dollars. As it is done but once a year, I think 
it cannot be half so expensive as tarring. I repeat 
it, sir, that I mention my experiment with great dif- 
fidence, as being the iirst of my own knowledge. 
It may induce several persons to try it in different 
places, and where trees are surrounded with others 
which are treated differently. All I pray is, that 
it may prove to be successful, and relieve us from 
this dreadful scourge, which defaces our country, 
while it impoverishes and disappoints the farmer. 
If it should succeed, Mr. Knapp will merit the 
thanks of the publick for his ingenious experiment." 



94 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

The foregoing valuable communication from one 
so highly deserving of confidence, it is hoped will 
have its proper influence, and encourage every pro- 
prietor of an orchard to make the experiment, 
whenever the canker worm shall again menace us 
with its ravages. The application of lime appears 
to be by far the most eligible remedy that has 
heretofore been proposed. It forms, after being 
exposed to rain, a hard crust impenetrable to moths 
or worms. If it should be generally adopted, it is 
very probable that these pernicious insects will be 
finally exterminated. It might be profitable to 
make the experiment upon a small scale, by con- 
fining some of the moths or worms, in their differ- 
ent states, in a box of earth, and applying the lime, 
s6 as to ascertain how far they will be able to pro- 
gress through it, and whether the lime will have 
the effect of decomposing them. It has already 
been intimated, (page 58,) that flax-rubbish and sea- 
weed, might be laid round orchard trees so as to 
prove a remedy against these insects. Those sub- 
stances, when beaten down by rains, soon become 
so firm and solid, as to prevent the growth of grass, 
and I should judge it would be impossible for the 
insects to penetrate through them. 

It was recommended by Dr. Dean, to endeavour 
to effect the destruction of canker worms through 
the agency of swine. These animals appear to 
possess a natural instinct directing to search with 
their snouts for vermin and insects, which conceal 
themselves in the earth. They should, when cir- 
cumstances permit, be suffered to run unrestrained, 
in orchards, during autumn and spring, for that pur- 
pose. I am authorized to say, that in several in- 
stances in this vicinity, the experiment has been 
made, and proved in a great degree elTectual. A 
general resort to this expedient, might have a hap- 
py tendency in preventing the annoyance of these, 
and other insects, in our orchards. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 95 

It is well known, that several species of birds 
feed voraciously upon the canker worm, and other 
tribes of insects ; it would be advantageous, there- 
fore, to encourage the increase of the feathered 
tribe, bv all the means in our power. 

CATERPILLARS. 

These vermin are so truly disgvisting in their na- 
ture and appearance, and so injurious by their de- 
vastations, that every farmer should consider it dis- 
graceful, to suffer his orchard to be infested by 
them; yet it is not uncommon to see numerous 
branches of valuable fruit trees entwined with nests, 
filled with these industrious reptiles, by which the 
foliage and fruit are destroyed. During an excur- 
sion this season, I have witnessed the disgustful sight 
of more than twenty large caterpillars' nests on a 
single tree, and almost every green leaf devoured. 
It would consist more with the interest and credit 
of the proprietor, were such neglected trees no 
longer permitted to encumber the ground. 

The eggs from which caterpillars are produced, 
are attached in clusters to the small twigs by a 
brownish coloured miller, in the month of August, and 
are securely covered with a gummy substance, unsus- 
ceptible of injiu'yby the weather during winter. The 
young brood is hatched by the warmth of the sun, 
just in time to prey upon the fresh leaves as they 
appear in the spring. The numerous family from 
each cluster of eggs, immediately unite in the labour 
of constructing a nest of strong web, which affords 
them a shelter from the inclemency of the weather, 
and a secure retreat from the dews at night. They 
continue to feed upon the leaves until about the 
last of June, when they abandon their habitation, 
and stroll to some dry, secure place, where they 
envelop themselves in a close covering of an egg- 
shaped, roundish ball, very similar to the cocoon of 



96 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

the silk worm. In this chrysalis state, they con- 
tinue a few weeks, and in the month of August they 
burst forth in the form of a brownish coloured mil- 
ler, the female of which soon wings her way to the 
apple trees, and deposits her eggs on the twigs, in 
the same manner as her progenitor, in the preceding 
year. Thus is an annual progeny generated, and in 
this manner is the species perpetuated. It wiU 
therefore appear evident, that if proper care be 
taken to destroy these vermin annually, and if all 
proprietors of orchards will act in concert with this 
view, the species may be entirely annihilated. The 
■clusters of eggs which contain the young brood, 
very nearly resemble in colour the bark of the tree, 
but by a vigilant search they may be detected, and 
at any leisure time after the month of August, the 
twigs to which they are attached, should be cut oiF, 
and burnt, or the eggs otherwise destroyed. But 
when this is omitted, and the caterpillars are hatch- 
ed, and have constructed their nests, and are ram- 
bling among the branches for food, a different me- 
thod must be adopted. The trees during the spring 
and first part of summer should be carefully search- 
ed every two or three days, in the morning or even- 
ing, while the insects are enclosed in their tents, 
when they are easily crushed with the fingers, or 
some instrument, or the branch may be cut off and 
destroyed. It is asserted that spirit of turpentine, 
or common fish oil, applied to the nest will pene- 
trate through, and kill every caterpillar withm it ; 
and it is also said, that soap suds will answer the 
same purpose. Mr. Yates, of Albany, says, he has 
formerly, and for several successive years, early in 
the morning while the caterpillars were confined 
to their nest or web, taken them off and destroyed 
them. By a repetition of this practice two or three 
times a week, for two or three weeks successively, 
they were totally destroyed ; but of late he has dis- 
covered a more easy and expeditious method, and 



OF FRUIT TREES. 97 

which effectually answers the purpose. Take a 
handful of wormAvood, one of rue, and two of Virginia 
tobacco ; (a sufficient quantity of tobacco alone will 
do, but not so well ;) boil these together in about two 
pails full of rain water, for nearly half an hour ; 
strain it through a cloth, and with this liquor sprin- 
kle the trees. He performs this with a barrow en- 
gine ; but the operation should be performed when 
the caterpillars or worms have left their nocturnal 
nest or web, and are dispersed on ttie trees. Re- 
peat the operation two or three times ; they will 
drop down and expire. 

An eligible method of exterminating the cater- 
pillar, will be' found in the following communication, 
from the honourable Mr. Pickering, to the corres- 
ponding secretary of the Massachusetts agricultural 
society. (Vol. iv. p. 326. Agricul. Repos.) 

Description of a Brush for destroying Caterpillar's Nests. 

Wenham,May 26, 1817. 
Dear sir, — For the last three or four years we 
have had very few caterpillars. Last week I ob- 
served an increased number, though not many, on 
my young apple trees. How to destroy them most 
easily, was a question which had occurred as often 
as I had seen orchards infested with them : while 
I always considered it disgraceful to a farmer to 
suffer his trees to be stripped of their leaves, and 
their fruit, for that season at least, to be destroyed; 
seeing it was very practicable to get rid of them, 
and without much trouble, by crushing them, when 
small, with the fingers. This was my father's 
mode when I was a boy. The same long, light 
ladders, which served in autumn in gathering 
his winter fruit by hand, enabled one to come at 
most of the caterpillars' nests in the spring. On this 
effectual example I have myself practised, since I 
became a farmer. Some over delicate persons 
13 



98 CULTURE ANt) MANAGEMENT 

might object to this mode; but it is really far lesB 
oflfensive than the bare sight of large and numerous 
nests with which apple trees are sometimes filled. 
And if the operation be performed early, when the 
caterpillars are only from a quarter to half an inch 
long, the operator (man or boy) will feel no repug- 
nance to the process. But in full grown trees, some 
nests, towards the extremities of their small limbs, 
would escape, because not accessible by ladders. 
A narrow brush, formed with small bunches of bris- 
tles, in a single row, I once thought would reach 
and destroy them; but it was not found effectual 
nor convenient. Last Saturday morning the idea of 
the proper kind of brush occurred to me, and in 
the forenoon I tried it with complete success. 

I presume every farmer has observed, that the 
clusters of eggs, producing caterpillars, are laid 
round the slender twigs of the apple tree and wild 
cherry, and effectually guarded by a gummy cover- 
ing, until vegetation commences in the ensuing 
spring. When first hatched, the worms appear 
about the eighth of an inch long. The same 
warmth in the air, which opens the buds, hatches 
the caterpillars to feed on the embryo leaves. 
Their first object is to provide for themselves a 
tent for shelter, in their new state, against the in- 
clemencies of the weather. For this purpose, they 
crawl to a small fork of a limb, where the branches 
form a sharp angle, and there spin and weave a 
web, with which they surround it, and where they 
are secure against undue cold, and heat, and rain. 
By this small white web they are discovered, and 
are then most easily destroyed. But the clusters 
of eggs are not all hatched at the same time. Ac- 
cording to their situation for w^armth or coolness, 
they are hatched some days earlier or later. At 
a distance, therefore, of a week or ten days after 
the first visit, an orchard should be again inspected, 
and all the latter broods destroyed. If neglected 



OF FRUIT TREES. 99 

in this first state, they soon, by their growth, be- 
come straitened for room ; and, having also con- 
sumed the nearest forage, they march and take a 
new station, and there form a new, but more am- 
ple tent. By such neglect the mischief of their 
ravages is increased, and they are with more diffi- 
culty destroyed. 

The efficient and convenient instrument above 
mentioned, for this work, is nothing more than a 
common bottle brush fastened on the end of a pole. 
Having an old one in my house, I was enabled to 
«iake the experiment on the day w hen the idea of 
so applying it occurred to me. This brush is made 
of hog's bristles, introduced between two stiff wires 
closely twisted, and, being convenient in cleansing 
the insides of bottles, is probably familiarly known 
wherever liquors are bottled. For the information 
of others, I will mention, that a piece of wire, full 
one tenth of an inch in diameter, about three feet 
long, doubled, and leaving a small loop in the mid- 
dle, is closely twisted for the length of about eight 
or ten inches from the loop ; and then the bristles, 
being introduced between the remainder of the 
two branches of the wire, and these closely twisted 
upon them, the bristles are iraraoveably fixed, and 
thus form (after being uniformly sheared,) a cylin- 
drical brush, about six inches long, and two inches 
and a half in diameter. To fasten this conveniently 
to a pole, with a small gouge, I made a groove about 
seven or eight inches long at the small end of the 
pole, in which nearly all the handle (the naked por- 
tion of the twisted wire) of the brush was laid, and 
bound on with three strings. 

In using the brush, press it on the small nest, and 
turning the pole in the hand, the web is entangled 
with the bristles and removed ; otherwise you rub 
the fork of the limb, inside and outside, with the 
brush, when nest and worms are surely killed or 
brought down. That the experimenter may see 



loo CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

its mode of operation, he may apply the brush with 
his hand to a nest within his reach. Spruce poles 
are eligible, because that wood is light and stiff. 
For my small trees, I found a common bean pole 
(used for running beans to climb on,) six or seven 
feet long, sufficient ; and for them a larger pole 
would be inconvenient. For taller trees, poles pro- 
portionably long must be provided. 

If you are satisfied, by my account, of the utility 
of this simple instrument for destroying caterpillars, 
you may think it proper immediately to make it 
publickly known. Should the description be more 
minute than is requisite for communicating a clear 
idea of it, and of its application, you will abridge it. 

With respect and esteem, &;c. 

Timothy Pickering. 



THE WORM CALLED THE BORER. 

An interesting paper by W. Denning, Esq. on the 
subject of the alarming decay of apple trees, is in- 
serted in the first volume of the transactions of the 
New York agricultural society; from which it ap- 
pears, that on cutting down some apple trees, which 
were far decayed, he discovered two worm holes 
running perpendicularly, from the tap root, through 
the heart. These holes were large enough to ad- 
mit a pipe stem, and reached about fourteen inches 
above the surface ; and from each hole a worm 
was taken. In some trees eight or ten holes were 
found. Mr. Denning proposes no remedy ; but 
Dr. Mease, editor of the domestick encyclopedia, 
observes, that the worm must be searched for with 
a wire, and bored out. The publick are particu- 
larly indebted to J. Prince, Esq. and to Mr. E. Her- 
sey, of Roxbury, for their mode of destroying this 
pernicious insect. 



OF FRUIT TREE!s. 101 

From the Massachusetts Agricultural Repositorj, volume iv. 
On a worm which attacks the apple tree. By John Prince, 
Esq. 

Jamaica Plains, Julj, 1819. 

DcAR SIR, — I have, within a few years past, lost 
a number of apple trees of from ten to fifteen years 
old, and Avas not able to account for it. My young 
trees also, that were beginning to bear, produced 
chiefly wormy and knurly fruit. The last year I 
found what I supposed to be the cause, which was 
a small, white, ringed worm, about three quarters 
of an inch long, with a dark coloured head, (I be- 
lieve the same that attacks the peach tree,) attack- 
ing them at and just below the surface of the 
ground. I mentioned the subject to professor 
Peck, yourself, and several other gentlemen, who 
had never heard of this destroyer of the apple tree. 
I feared much the loss of all mf trees, of which I 
have near one thousand, and mostly of my own 
planting. This spring, a man, who was grafting for 
me some old trees, told me he had trees that had 
been affected in the same way, and that they were 
very easily got rid of, by digging round the trees, and. 
clearing away the earth to the roots, and then, with 
a sharp pomted knife, a chisel, or gouge, (and a. 
small Avire to probe, if they were deep in the tree,), 
they were easily destroyed. I employed him in 
June for this purpose. I believe there was not 
an apple tree on my farm but had some worms ;, 
and from some of them twenty-four were taken; 
and the trees almost entirely girdled, and would 
not, probably, have lived through the year. After 
taking out all that could be found, the wounds were 
covered over with grafting clay, and a large pro- 
portion of dry wood ashes, mixed, and the earth 
then returned to the tree. I shall have them again 
examined this fall, and looked at every spring. 
The trouble is much less than Avould be imagined, 
till tried. One capable man will dig round and 



102 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

turn the sods, two or three feet from the tree, (and 
which is also extremely beneficial to young trees 
in grass ground,) and examine at least thirty trees 
in one day ; Emd in garden, or ploughed ground, one 
hundred. 

When jit h found how little expense is required 
to extract these destructive little worms, I do hope 
those persons who have young trees particularly, 
would examine them as soon as possible. They are 
soon discovered by the worm casts, or saw-dust 
borings, which should be followed, and wholly ex- 
tracted. 

I have also lost several mountain ash and quince 
trees by, I believe, the same destroyer. 

Report of a committee to whom was referred the application of 
Mr. E. Hersej. 

The committee appointed by the trustees of the 
Massachusetts agricultural society, to inquire into 
the facts relative to the destruction of the worm 
called the borer, which has of late years been so in- 
jurious to the apple trees in this neighbourhood ; and 
to ascertain whether any thing be due to the exer- 
tions and adroitness of Mr. Ebenezcr Hcrsey, of 
Roxbury, housewright, and generally known as a 
successful^ro/^^er, in destroying this troublesome and 
voracious insect, beg leave to report: — That they 
find, although it be uncertain whether Mr. Hersey 
was the first person who discovered the easy mode 
now practised by him, in taking the insect from the 
body of the tree, yet they are satisfied that the 
great advantage which the publick are like to de- 
rive from the extirpation of this worm, is principal- 
ly owing to the exertions aijid cleverness of Mr. 
Hersey in this branch of his profession ; and they 
recommend that a premium be awarded him of 
twenty-five dollars. 

Your committee feel it incumbent on them to 
state, for your information, that Mr. Hersey has ex- 



OP FRUrr TREE«. i03 

firpated the insect in at least a thousand apple trees 
on one farm in Roxbury; that he has probably sav- 
ed many thousands in other parts of that town, and 
its neighbourhood, either by his personal attendance 
and labour, or by the information which he has giv- 
en to others on the subject; that he has restored 
to vigour and soundness many valuable peach trees 
that were gummy, and rapidly declining, from the 
effects produced by this, or a similar worm ; that 
he has traced them to the mountain ash, and saved 
many of those beautiful trees from perislung : and 
your committee have no doabt, if, from his example, 
the farmers of this commonwealth will examine 
their orchards, and cut out those insects from their 
trees, wherever found, they will, in a short time, 
feel the benefit of their attention to the increased 
and improved quality of their fruit. 

Your committee feel it their duty also to add, 
that from their own experience, they feel assured, 
that all those v/ho can command the services of 
Mr. Hersey, will find it more economical to employ 
him to perform this work, than to undertake it 
themselves ; as his experience and original profes- 
sion of housewright, acquainted with the use of 
tools, enables him to do it not only more thorough- 
ly, but very much quicker than any one can who 
has not been in the practice of the art. 

The seasons when this operation is performed 
with most effect, are the spring and fall ; and 
if in the spring, before the month of June, as the 
perfect insects escape before that time. In apple 
and mountain ash trees, the existence of the animal 
in the tree may generally be known, by the mossy 
appearance on the bark ; and it may be traced by 
removing a little earth from the body of the tree, 
next above the insertion of the great roots. Al- 
though the hole at which the insect enters, is, in 
many instances, very small, yet it is easily discover- 
ed by an appearance of powdered wood, or fine 



104 CULTURE AND MANAGE31ENT 

saw dust, which is thrown out by the worm ; — here 

you may introduce your chisel, and fci'Iow his track. 

Cut the bark smooth, and when you have cleansed 

the tree of all the insects, (of which there are soH»e- 

times as many as twenty to be found,) plaster the, 

wounds over with a little clay, and when it is dry, 

restore the earth to its place. The operation should 

be renewed the succeeding season, to make the 

work complete. In peach trees the insect is traced 

by the gum ; but as this is also produced by bruises, 

it is not infallible. 

Samuel G. Perkins, ) ^-t 

T r) } Committee. 

John Jtrince, ^ 

Note. — If the frost be out of the ground, we re- 
commend to farmers to perform the spring cleans- 
ing as early as March and April. 

Boston, April 16. 

Having so happily discovered a method of de- 
stroying this pernicious reptile, it still remains ex- 
tremely desirable to devise some means by which 
its successful attack upon the tree may be prevent- 
ed. We are unacquainted with the natural history 
of this worm, but it is highly probable that is the 
progeny of the fly which deposits its eggs in the 
bark of the peach tree. Whether this be the fact, 
or whether it derive its existence from some source 
in the earth, it is reasonable, from its habit, to sup- 
pose that the soil or mould is congenial to its nature, 
and that native instinct directs it to enter the tree, 
for its future residence and support. The most ob- 
vious mode of prevention, therefore, which reflec- 
tion has suggested, is the following. Early in the 
spring, let the soil from around the trunk of the 
tree be removed, down to the roots, and fill up the 
vacant place with some substance that would prove 
obnoxious to the fly or worm, or that would infalli- 
bly resist its powers to penetrate the bark. Among 
the substances which appear most likely to prove 



OF* P^UIT TRHES. 105 

succegsful, I will mention the flax rubbish and sea- 
weed, page 58 of tliis vohime. The next which 
occur, are ashes, lime, sea-shells, sea-sand, mortar- 
fubbish from old buildings, clay, tanner's bark, frag- 
ments of leather from the tanner*s and shoemaker's 
shops, &c. Some, or perhaps any of the above men- 
tioned substances, if pressed closely round the trunk 
of the tree, must inevitably prevent the fly or worm 
from having access to the bark, and of course prove 
an effectual remedy. Should it be the case, that 
the worm advances from some distant part in search 
of the tree, it is possible, on meeting foreign sub* 
stances, to which it has not been habituated, its in-* 
atinctive faculties may be baffled, or it may die be- 
fore it can effect its object. Besides the expedient 
just described, another remains to be mentioned ; 
it is the application of the clay paint, page 74, or 
the following composition, which is preferable. 
Take equal parts of quick lime, cow dung and clay, 
which by the addition of soap suds and urine, should 
be reduced to the consistence of common paint. To 
make it more adhesive, add a little hair. Let the 
whole stem, from the roots to the branches, be en- 
veloped with a coating of this composition, and oc- 
casionally repeated, and it will scarcely be possible^ 
for the fly or worm, or insects, to injure the trunk 
of the tree ; and it will at the same time prove con- 
ducive to its health and vigour. It might even he 
recom«j»ended to make this application to all young 
trees, at the time of transplanting, especially in 
places where the worm is known to prevail. 

It appears that this destructive worm is rapidly 
extending its ravages among our orchard trees. In, 
attending to the examination of my own trees since 
writing the above, (September 4th,) I was aston- 
ished to find that more than half of them were suf- 
fering injury by the borer, in considerable numbers, 
fifteen being taken out of a single tree ; I was struck 
with the remark of the werkman, that those treqs 
14 



106 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

which were surrounded by a cluster of root suckers, 
were in particular the greatest sulFerers; and when 
a tree had suckers on one side only, the worms were 
found on that side of the tree. It is not improbable 
that the suckers and leaves facilitate the operation of 
depositing the eggs by affording a convenient shel- 
ter for the fly or moth ; but we are destitute of the 
natural history of this insect. The suckers and 
worms all being removed, I directed the wounds 
made in the trees, and also the whole trunk near 
the surface of the earth, to be covered with a mix- 
ture of clay and cow dung, with a little hair to ren- 
der it more adhesive ; and afterwards a circuit of 
about three feet round each tree, to be covered 
with tanner's bark, or refuse leather. 



SLUG WORM, OR NAKED SNAIL. 

It is from the accurate observation of professor 
Peck, that we are enabled to present the reader 
with the history of the slug worm, by which, of 
late years, our fruit trees have been infested. These 
reptiles make their appearance upon the leaves of 
fruit trees, in the month of July, and our ingenious 
professor has discovered, that they are the proge- 
ny of a small black fly, which deposits its eggs in 
the leaf in the months of May and June, and in 
fourteen days after the deposit, thie perfect slug is 
found adhering and feeding on the leaves. It is of 
an olive colour, with a slimy coat, and in the course 
of twenty days, it throws ofl' four skins, at nearly 
equal periods; it remains in the fifth, or last vis-- 
cous skin, six days, and acquires its full growth; it 
then quits this fifth skin, which is left adhering to 
the leaf, and appears in a clean yellow one, entirely 
free from vicidity, and has so different an aspect 
that it would not be supposed to be the same larvae. 
After resting some hours, it proceeds slowly down the 
fr^e to the earth, into which it enters to the depth 



OF FRUIT TREES. 107 

of from one to four inches ; and in about eighteen 
days they again ascend from the earth, in the form 
of flies, and these again deposit their eggs in the 
leaf; so that they produce two hatchings in a year. 

It is happy for the fruit planter, that a simple 
method is discovered, by which these destructive in- 
sects may be eirectually destroyed. This is done 
by means of lime sprinkled over the leaves in th« 
form of powder. For this purpose, a wooden box, 
of convenient size, having its bottom perforated 
with numerous small holes, is to be filled with 
lime. This being mounted on a pole, by shaking 
over the tree, distributes the lime among the leaves, 
and the slugs are immediately destroyed. The la- 
bour is very trivial ; a man may cover a large tree 
in three or four minutes ; and the desired effect is 
certain. Fine earth shaken through a basket or 
perforated box, will answer equally well. 

Another remedy, it is said, will prove equally of- 
fectual. It is a strong infusion of tar, made by pour- 
ing water on tar, and suffering it to stand two or 
three days, when it becomes strongly impregnated. 
This, if sprinkled over the leaves by means of an 
engine, will kill these vermin instantaneously. Tan- 
ners bark put round fruit trees, will destroy the 
slug worm. 

The following letter from E. Perley, esquire, is 
extracted from the Massachusetts AgriculturaJ Rer 
pository, vol. 3, page 144. 



LICE, INFESTING YOLfNG ORCHARDS, IN THE DISTRICT OF 
MAINE-MODE OF DESTROYING THEM. 

" This insect, called lice, is in form like h^lf a 
kernel of rye, (but not more than one twentieth 
part so large,) with the flat side sticking to the 
smooth bark of the tree. They resemble blisters ; 
and are near the colour of the bark of thi tree. 
These blisters contain from ten to thirty nit?? or 



I0l8 CULTURE ANP WANAOEMENl- 

eggs each, in form like a snake's egg; which, ni a 
common season, begin to hatch about the 25th oi' 
May, and finish about the 10th of June. These 
nits produce a white animalcule, resembling a louse, 
so small they are hardly perceptible by the naked 
eye ; which, immediately after they are hatched, 
open the passage at the end of the blister, and 
crawl out on the bark of the tree ; and there re- 
main, with but little motion about ten days ; when 
they stick themselves fast to the bark of the tree, 
and die. From this little carcass arises a small 
speck of blue mouldy which is most plain to be seen 
between the 10th and 20th of June, and continues 
about fifteen [days ; and then gradually wears oif, 
Qntil the old carcass appears, which, by this time 
is formed into a new blister, and contains the 
Impawns or nits before mentioned. 

" These blisters prevent the circulation of sap, 
and prove as fatal to the tree as the canker worm. 

" In order to remedy the difficulty, I have made 
many experiments within a few years ; but long to 
no good effect, not knowing then the particular 
season when these animalcules could be most easily 
destroyed. This, however, I have lately found to 
be between the time they hatch, and that when 
the mould leaves them.* Thte application that I 
have found most effectual is, washing the trees 
with lye or brine. Lime, also, mixed with lye, to 
the consistence of white wash, may be useful. 
And although the small branches cannot be cleans- 
ed in this manner without much difficulty, still, if 
the body of the tree, and the branches near the 
body are kept clean until there comes a.. rough 
bark, I. think the lice will not kill the tree. 

" Some people have recommended the applica- 
tion of train oil to the tree, which, indeed, is a 

* " It appears from this account, by Mr. Perley, that thes* 
appearances can, in general, onJy occur between May 25, arif! 
July 5." 



OF FRUIT TREES. 10,9 

powerful antidote against lice, but being of a glu- 
tinous quality, is very detrimental to the tree. 
Inoculation has been proposed ; which, I think, 
will have no effect at all on the lice ; for I perceive 
they hatch in May, on branches that were pruned 
off the tree in March, and the sap entirely extin- 
guished. 

" These lice are natural in the uncultivated 
forest, on what is called moose-wood, and other 
bushes. 

" Much care should be taken on their first ap 
pearing in an orchard or nursery ; as the cutting 
down and destroying a few young trees is of no im- 
portance, compared with the difficulty of having an 
orchard overrun with them. 

" p. S. The brine or pickle, with which the 
tree is to be washed, should not be such as has 
had meat salted in it ; but let one quart of com- 
mon salt be dissolv^ed in two gallons of clean 
water." 

As a remedy against these lice, the clay paint, 
mentioned, page 74, may be recommended. If 
this were properly applied to the trunk and 
branches of the tree after the eggs are hatched, it 
would so completely envelop the insects as proba- 
bly to counteract their mischievous effects. 

CURCULIO. 

The following is extracted from the Domestick 
Encyclopedia, edited by Dr. Mease. 

" The editor is indebted to his excellent friend, 
Dr. James Tilton, of Wilmington, Delaware, for 
the following original and very valuable communi- 
cation, on the subject of the insect, which has been 
so actively engaged in destroying the fruit of Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, (and, probably, of the other- 
states,) for a few years past. It were to be wished, 
that other gentlemen among ui?, who have oppor- 



1 10 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

tunltloe, would be equally attentive with Dr. Til- 
ton, in communicating their observations upon this 
subject of rural economy. 

" Curculio, a genus of insects belonging to the 
coleoptcra, or beetle order. The species are said to 
be very numerous. The immense damage done, 
by an insect of this tribe, to the fruits of this coun- 
try, of which there is no similar account in Europe, 
has given rise to a conjecture, with some natu- 
ralists, that we have a peculiar and very destruc- 
tive species in America. 

" The manner in which this insect injures and 
destroys our fruits, is by its mode of propagation. 
Early in the spring, about the time when our fruit 
trees are in blossom, the curculiones ascend in 
swarms from the earth, crawl up the trees, and as 
the several fruits advance, they puncture the rind 
or skin with their pointed rostra, and deposit their 
embryos in the wounds thus inflicted. The mag- 
got, thus buried in the fruit, preys upon its pulp 
and juices until, in most instances, the fruit perish- 
es, falls to the ground, and the insect, escaping 
from so unsafe a residence, makes a sure retreat 
into the earth; where, like other beetles, it remains 
in the form of a grub or worm during the winter, 
ready to be metamorphosed into a bug or beetle, 
SLS the spring advances. Thus every tree furnishes 
its own enemy; for although these bugs have ma- 
Mifestly the capacity of flying, they appear very 
reluctant in the use of their wings ; and perhaps 
never employ them, but when necessity compels 
them to migrate. It is a fact, that two trees of 
the same kind may stand in the nearest possible 
neighbourhood, not to touch each other, the one 
have its fruit destroyed by the curculio, and the 
Other be uninjured, merely from contingent cir- 
cumstances, which prevent the insects from crawl- 
ing up the one, while they are uninterrupted from, 
climbing the other. 



OP FRUIT TBP.ES. . Ill 

♦' The curculio delights most in the smooth- 
skinned stoned fruits, such as nectarines, plums, 
apricots, &c. when they abound on a farm: 
they nevertheless attack the rough-skinned peach, 
the apple, pear, and quince. The instinctive saga- 
city of these creatures directs them especially to 
the fruits most adapted to their purpose. The 
stone fruits more certainly perish by the wounds 
made by these insects, so as to fall in due time to 
the ground, and afford an opportunity to the young 
maggot to hide itself in the earth. Although mul- 
titudes of seed fruits fall, yet many recover from 
their wounds, which heal up, with deeply indented 
scars. This probably disconcerts the curcwlio, in 
its intended course to the earth. Be this as it 
may, certain it is, that pears are less liable to fall, 
and are le»s injured by this insect than apples. 
Nectarines, plums, &c. in most districts of our coun- 
try, where the curculio has gained an establish- 
ment, are utterly destroyed, unless special means 
are employed for their preservation. Cherries 
escape better, on account of their rapid progress to 
maturity, and their abundant crops : the curculio 
can only puncture a small part of them, during the 
short time they hang upon the tree. These de- 
structive insects continue their depredations from 
the first of May, until autumn. Our fruits, collec- 
tively estimated, must, therefore, be depreciated 
more than half their value. 

" It is supposed the curculio is net only injurious 
above ground, but also in its retreat, below the sur- 
face of the eaith, by preying on the roots of our 
fruit trees. We know that beetles have, in some in- 
stances, abounded in such a manner as to endanger 
whole ibrests. Our fruit trees often die from 
manifest injuries done to the roots by insects, and 
by no insect more probably than the curculio. In 
districts where this insect abounds, cherry trees 
a-od apple trees, which disconcert it most above, 



112 CULTURf^ AND MANA(3EMENT 

appear to be the special objects of its vengeance 
below the surface of the earth. 

** These are serious evils ; to combat which, 
every scientifick inquirer is loudly called upon to 
exert his talents ; every industrious farmer to dou- 
ble his diligence ; and all benevolent characters to 
contribute their mite. 

** Naturalists have been accustomed to destroy 
vicious insects, by employing their natural enemies 
to devour them. We are unacquainted with any 
tribe of insects able to destroy the curculio. All 
the domestick animals, however, if well directed, 
contribute to' this purpose. Hogs, in a special 
manner, are qualified for the work of extermina- 
tion. This voracious animal, if suffered to go at 
large in orchards, and among fruit trees, devours 
all the fruit that falls, and among others, the cur- 
culiones, in a maggot state, which may be contained 
in them. Being thus generally destroyed in the 
embryo state, there will be few or no bugs to 
ascend from the earth in the spring, to injure the 
fruit. Many experienced farmers hav^ noted the 
advantage of hogs running in orchards. Mr. Bord- 
ley, in his excellent ' essays on husbandry,' t;\kes 
particular notice of the great advantage of hogs 
to orchards : and although he attributes the bene- 
fits derived from these animals to the excellence of 
their manure, and their occasional rooting about 
the trees, his mistake in this trivial circumstance 
does by no means invalidate the general remarks 
of this acute observer. The fact is, hogs render 
fruits of all kinds fair and unblemished, by destroy- 
ing the curculio. 

" The ordinary fowls of a farm-yard are great 
devourers of beetles. Poultry, in general, are re- 
garded as carnivorous in summer, and therefortf 
cooped some time before they are eaten. Every 
body knows with what avidity ducks seize on the 
tumble bug, (scarahcvvs carnifer.) and it is probable 



OF FRUIT TREES. 113 

the curculio is regarded by all the fowls as an 
equally delicious morsel. Therefore it is, that the 
smooth stone fruits, particularly, succeed much 
better in lanes and yards, where the poultry run 
without restraint, than in gardens and other enclo- 
sures, where the fowls are excluded. 

" Eren horned cattle, and all sorts of stock, 
may be made to contribute to the preservation of 
our valuable fruits. By running among the trees, 
they not only trample to death multitudes of these 
insects, but by hardening the ground, as in lanes, it 
becomes very unfit to receive or admit such tender 
maggots as crawl from the fallen fruits. Besides, 
the curculio is very timid, and when frightened by 
the cattle rubbing against the tree, or otherwise, 
their manner is to roll themselves up in a little 
ball, and fall to the ground, where they may be 
trampled and devoured by the stock, poultry, &c. 
Colonel T. Forest, of Germantown, having a fine 
plum tree near his pump, tied a rope Irom the tree 
to his pump handle, so that the tree was gently 
agitated every time there was occasion to pump 
water. The consequence was, that the fruit on 
this tree was preserved in the greatest perfec- 
tion." 



GATHERING, AND PRESERVING APPLES. 

The fruit orchard having attained to that pro- 
ductive state, in which the proprietor is about to 
remunerate himself for his labour and attention, it 
is still requisite to exercise due judj^ment and dis- 
cretion in the grateful employment of collecting his 
crop. The injudicious method commonly prac- 
tised in gathering apples is more destructive m its 
consequences than is generally understood. The 
first requisite is, to ascertain precisely when the 
fruit is fully ripe, as it is said, that the longer win- 
ter apples are suifered to remain on the trees, pro»- 
IT) 



114 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

vided they are not overtaken by frost, the longer 
they may be preserved. In hot chmates, and in 
hot seasons, iVuit attains to maturity and ripeness 
©arher than in colder ones, because the sap performs 
its office more rapidly. It may be considered a 
correct rule, that apples are ripe when those that 
are sound and fair fall naturally from the trees, or 
separate very readily on being lifted by the hand. 
They should be gathered during a clear dry air, 
after the dew has evaporated. According to the 
late philosophick Dr. Darwin, in order to ascertain 
when fruits, for instance, apples and pears, are 
sutficiently ripe for gathering, it is requisite to at- 
tend to the colour of the skin enclosing the seeds. 
During their infant state, there is no cavity round 
the kernels, but they are in contact with the seed 
vessels. In a subsequent period, when the fruit 
has exhausted the nutricious matter, the cells con- 
taining the seeds become hollow, and the latter 
assume a dark colour. This, Dr. D. observes, is 
the proper criterion by which to judge when such 
fruits should be gathered ; as it indicates that they 
will not continue to increase in size, but waste and 
become hollow? by absorbing the mucilaginous par- 
ticles from the centre. In gathering apples and 
pears, it is necessary carefully to avoid injuring the 
blossom buds, which are already formed for the 
next year's fruit. These buds are placed at the 
side of the foot stalk of the fruit, and if the spurs 
are broken, there will be no fruit on that part the 
next season. The pressing against the trees, there- 
fore, with heavy ladders, and the rash practice of 
thrashing the limbs with poles, ought to be entirely 
abandoned ; for by such means, the bark and limbs 
are bruised, and the blossom buds for the succeed- 
ing year are destroyed. Instead of ladders, step- 
ping frames should be employed, and a pole, fur- 
nished with a hook at the end, and covered with 
coarse cloth, may be used to shake the small 



OF FRUIT TREES. 115 

limbs, without injuring the bark. When perfectly 
ripe, apples for cider may be shaken off without 
injury to the buds, but still they will be bruised, 
unless the ground be covered with blankets or 
straw. Particular care is requisite in gathering- 
winter fruit for keeping : they should be gathered 
by the hand, and without injury, removing them 
from the gathering basket to the casks prepared 
for them, with great care : if bruised, they sooti 
decay; and the less those that are sound are mov- 
ed, the better. When in barrels, they should be 
placed in a dry, cool, shaded situation, above 
ground, and remain until danger by frost, and theii 
put into the cellar. 

The following valuable observations, contained 
in a letter from N. Webster, esquire, have been 
published in the Massachusetts Agricultural Reposi- 
tory, from the Connecticut Courant. 

PRESERVATION OF APPLES. 

" It is the practice with some persons, to pick 
them in October, and first spread them on the 
floor of an upper room. This practice is said to 
render apples more durable, by drying them. But 
I can affirm this to be a mistake. Apples, if re- 
maining on the trees as long as safety from the 
frost will admit, should be taken directly from the 
trees to close casks, and kept dry and cool as pos- 
sible. If suffered to lie on a floor for weeks, they 
wither and lose their flavour, without acquiring any 
additional durability. The best mode of preserving 
apples for spring use, I have found to be, the put- 
ting them in dry sand as soon as picked. For this 
purpose, I. dry sand in the heat of summer, and 
late in October put down the apples in layers, with 
a covering of sand upon each layer. The singular 
advantages of this mode of treatment are these : 
1st. The sand keeps the apples from the air, which 



116 clJLTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

is essential to their preservation. 2dly. The 
Sand checks the evaporation or perspiration of 
the apples, thus preserving in them their full fla- 
vour — at the same time, anj moisture yielded by 
the apples, (and some there will be,) is absorbed by 
the sand; so that the apples are kept dry, and all 
mustiness is prevented. My pippins, in May and 
June, are as fresh as when first picked ; even the 
ends of the stems look as if just separated from 
the twiff." 

An English writer recommends the use of dry 
pit sand, for the preservation of apples and pears. 
Glazed earthen jars are to be provided, and the 
sand is to be thoroughly dried. A layer of sand, 
an inch thick, is then to be placed in the bottom of 
the jar ; above this, a layer of fruit, to be covered 
with a layer of sand, an inch thick ; then lay a se- 
cond stratum of fruit, covering again with an inch 
of sand. An inch and a half of sand may be placed 
over the uppermost row of fruit. The jar is now 
to be closed, and placed in a dry, airy situation, as 
cool as possible, but entirely free from frost. Wheat 
bran is sometimes substituted for sand. 

" One of the most easy methods," says Dr. Dar- 
win, " of preserving fruit is that of depositing it in 
ice-houses, where it may remain in a frozen state 
for a considerable time. And if the frnit be after- 
wards gradually thawed, by covering it with melted 
ice, or immersing it in cold spring water, it will lose 
but little of its flavour, provided it be consumed on 
the same day."' 

Mr. Forsyth gives the following directions for 
picking and preserving fruit. " All apples, pears, 
&c. ought to be carefully picked by hand, and laid 
in baskets containing dried grass, to prevent them 
from being bruised ; and if they fall spontaneously, 
some dry barley straw, or pease haulm should be 
prepared for their reception on the ground; in the 
latter instance, the fruit ought to be separated from, 



OP FRUIT TREES. 117 

kud. sent to table before that which is collected by 
hand ; and such as may be accidentally bruised 
ought to be reserved for culinary purposes, because 
it cannot be long kept in a sound state. When all 
the fruit is collected, it should be conveyed to the 
store room, laid gently, in small heaps, on dried 
grass, and their tops be covered with short grass, 
in order to sweat. Here it may remain for about a 
fortnight, during which time, each apple, pear, &c, 
must be occasionally wiped with a dry woollen cloth, 
and those exposed on the surface should be placed 
towards the middle of the heap. At the end of 
this period, all watery ingredients that may have 
been imbibed during a Avet season, will be evapo- 
rated; the heaps should then be uncovered, and 
each article carefully wiped; separating those which 
may be injured, or unfit for keeping. During this 
process of sweating, the windows of the store room, 
excepting in wet or foggy weather, ought to be 
continually open, in order to discharge the moisture 
perspiring from the fruit. The usual method of 
storing pears, apples, &c. consists in laying them on 
clean wheaten straw ; but in this case, it will be ne- 
cessary to examine them frequently, and to remove 
such as begin to decay; because the straw, by ab- 
sorbing moisture, will become so tainted as to com- 
municate an unpleasant flavour." The best mode 
of preserving fruit, however, in the opinion of Mr. 
Forsyth, is that of packing it in glazed earthen jars, 
which ought to be kept in dry apartments. For 
this purpose, apples and pears are to be wrapped 
separately in soft papers, and laid at the bottom of 
the vessel, on a thin stratum of well dried bran. 
Alternate layers of bran and fruit are then to Ibl- 
low, till the jar be filled ; when it should be gently 
shaken, in order to settle its contents. Every va- 
cancy must now be supplied with bran, covered 
with paper, and the whole secured from air and 
moisture, by a piece of bladder, over which the 
cover of the vessel must be carefully fitted. 



llA CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

LIST OF APPLES 

H^LD in most estimation in the united STATES'. 

A^^ accurate technical list of the various sorts of 
npples known in tlie United States, would be con- 
sidered an acquisition of importance ; but their 
flames Are derived from such various and capricious 
causes, or incidents, that a correct list cannot be 
'cElsily accomplished; some have received names de- 
scriptive of the fruit, and others are derived from 
the places where thej have been hrst found, or 
from the original cultivator. But a serious misfor- 
tune is, in several instances the same fruit bears 
many different names in different places; which sub- 
jects the planter to much inconvenience, as it not 
unfrequentlj happens, that grafts of a supposed new 
variety are obtained from a distance, under a differ- 
ent name, which eventually prove to produce the 
same kind of fruit, with which his orchard already 
abounds. I have this season received grafts from 
trees, called red queen apple, which, on examining 
the fruit of the last year, I discovered to be the 
Baldwin apple. William Coxe, esquire, of Burling- 
ton, New Jersey, possesses the most extensive or- 
chard and cider establishment, it is presumed, in 
the United States, consisting of more than four 
thousand apple trees, besides other fruit. This 
gentleman has favoured the publick with a view of 
the cultivation of fruit trees, &c. which contains a 
descriptive list of one hundred and thirty-three va- 
rieties of apples, which are cultivated on his own 
j)lantation. To this list may be be added others, 
in various parts of the union, amounting, probably, 
to several hundreds. The following is from Dr. 
Mease's edition Domcstick Encyclopedia : " The 
family of Prince, at Flushing, Long Island, have 
been many years celebrated for their fine fruit, and 



OF FRUIT TREE-S. 119 

same of the choicest kinds to be met witli, in vari- 
ous parts of the United States, have been brought 
from their nursury. A very extensive and excel- 
lent collection of fruits, both imported and native, 
was origmally commenced, about ten years since, by 
William Coxe, esquire, ol' Burlington, New Jersey, 
and is now for sale by I. Smith & Co. at that place. 
In this grand collection, there are eighty kinds of 
apples, (now one hundred and thirty-three,) ninety 
kmds of pears, and fifty-one of cherries, nearly all 
imported, and one hundred varieties of peaches, 
Mr. Samuel Coles, of Moor's town. New Jersey, has 
also an excellent collection. Several French gen- 
tlemen, who have taken up their residence near 
Philadelphia, have done much in a few years to- 
wards improving our stock of fruits, by importing 
largely of the finest kinds from France ; and there 
can be no doubt, if we take pains to propagate from 
the valuable stock in our power, that in a few years, 
the neighbourhood of Philadelphia may boast of as 
fine a collection as can be desired. 

" Under the article apple, some important re- 
marks were given on this subject ; the editor has 
now great pleasure in presenting to the Arfierican 
publick the first attempt ever made to collect, in 
one view, a list of the finest kinds of apples growing 
in the United States. For the materials, of which 
this list was composed, he has been indebted to 
Mr. William Prince, of Long Island, Mr. R. Riley, 
of Marcus Hook, Chester county, William Coxe» 
esquire, of Burlington, and the honourable Judge 
Boudinot, of Newark, New Jersey ; through wliom, 
also, the valuable facts from Mr. John Ogden, of 
Newark, and from Mr. Asa Hillyes, of Orange, Es- 
sex county. New Jersey, were obtained ; and he, 
with thanks, expresses his obligations to them foi: 
their ready assistance and communication. Atten- 
tive, however, as his friends have been, he cannot 
suppose that the list comprehends every apple in 



120 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

the United States; but he is satisfied, that the 
most valuable have been described, and he will 

fladly receive accounts of any others, which may 
ave been unnoticed, and add them to the list, 
should another edition of this work be called for." 
From the ample catalogues of Dr. Mease and 
William Coxe, esquire, and from other sources, I 
have selected a list of those which are held in 
most estimation, and such as are generally in de- 
mand at market. 

Those marked c. are cider apples. 

1. jimerican pippin, c. " was brought from Mary- 
land to Marcus Hook, thirty years since. It is of 
a flattish form, middle size, firm subtance, resem- 
bling the vandevere, and will keep till harvest. 
Mr. Coxe describes it as a long fruit, having a dull 
red stripe. Fourteen bushels of these apples are 
required, at Marcus Hook, to make one barrel of 
cider." (Mease.) 

2. American nonpareil, or doctor apple, in Penn- 
sylvania. " Will keep from November to March. 
A large red-striped apple, of excellent flavour, and 
very juicy. It keeps tolerably well during winter. 
The tree is subject to blast." 

3. Antumn, or Jail pippin. " Ripens in October. 
A large yellow apple, acid taste, and pleasant fla- 
vour. It is also a good kitchen apple. It usually 
weighs nineteen ounces. Keeps well." 

4. Aunfs apple. " This is a beautiful and large 
apple, of an oblong make, resembling the Priestly 
in shape ; the skin smooth, streaked with a lively 
red, on a yellow ground ; the flesh is yellow, break- 
ing and juicy ; of an agreeable flavour, but not 
rich. It ripens in November, and, from its hand- 
some appearance, is a valuable market fruit. The 
tree is small, the growth delicate, and its fruitful- 
ness great. It is extensively cultivated in several 
of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania." (Coxe.) 



OP FRUIT TREES. 121 

5. Baldwin apple, or Pecker apple ; is a very va- 
luable red apple, large and beautillil, fine flavoured, 
and will keep till April. It is in high estimation 
in Massachusetts. 

6. Baltimore apple. In the transactions of the 
horticultural society of London, published in 1817, 
it is stated, that a large apple, raised in the garden 
of Mr. Smith, near the city of Baltimore, was exhi- 
bited ; it had been recently imported by captain 
George Hobson, of Baltimore, who sent it to sir Jo- 
seph Banks, by whom it was presented to the socie- 
ty. This apple, of which an engraving accompanies 
this account, weighed one pound seven and a half 
ounces ; it measured in circumference one foot two 
inches and three quarters, and in height as it stood, 
was four inches, it proved very good, though over 
ripe ; it was very close at the core, and, if a good 
bearer, will deserve general cultivation. The draw- 
ing is coloured, and very interesting. 

Note by the editor of the American Farmer. 
" The apple here spoken of grew on the farm of 
Robert Smith, esquire, where, we are authorized 
to state, cuttings may be had for grafting." 

7. Black apple. " Ripe in November ; a very 
deep red. A much-admired fruit near Trenton, 
New Jersey. Mr. Boudinot, of New Jersey, says, 
*■' there is an apple lately discovered here, which is 
called by the owner of the orchard, a black apple. 
It appears to be a species between the Spitzen- 
burgh and common black apple." (Mease.) 

8. Broivnite. In Mr. Riley's opinion, this is ex- 
celled by none for the table. It is ripe in Septem- 
ber, and keeps well. It was discovered by Row- 
son, an old Swede, near Marcus Hook. 

9. Bow apple. Ripens in June and July ; — 
equal to any summer apple. It is juicy, tender, 
and mild ; of a light yellow colour. 

10. Bell flower. *' A long yellow apple, of good 
flavour, very large, and excellent for the table, and 

ir> 



122 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

for cooking. When fully ripe, which is in Octo- 
tober, the seeds may be heard to rattle, when 
shaken. This beautiful apple will keep well 
through the winter ; and it is held in great estima- 
tion in the Philadelphia market." 

11. Bullock's pippin^ or sheep'^s snout. This is a 
native of New Jersey, and is sometimes called the 
long torn. It is in high repute, in autumn and the 
first part of winter, for its rich and sprightly juice, 
and is much admired when baked. 

12. Campjield, or JVewark sweeting, c. " Is a 
large sweet fruit, of a pale red colour; ripens about 
the beginning of October, and keeps well, if care- 
fully picked. Being a rich fruit, it is necessary to 
mix the Harrison apple with it, in order to refine 
the cider produced from it." 

13. Cat-head. " This is a very large, round ap- 
ple, flattened at the ends, and deeply hollowed : the 
stalk is short and thick, so deeply sunk as to be 
almost imperceptible : the colour a greenish yel- 
low, the flesh white : a good apple for cooking and 
drying, but apt to drop frop the tree, from its 
great weight ; and deficient in point of richness and 
flavour." (Coxe.) 

14. Catline, c. A Delaware autumn cider fruit, 
and considered a pleasant eating apple, in its sea- 
son. The tree is very productive, and an early 
bearer. 

15. Carthotise, or gilpin, c. " This apple is said 
to have been brought from Virginia. It is highly 
esteemed for its excellence as a table apple, late in 
the spring, and as a good cider fruit. It is a most abun- 
dant bearer, and hangs on the tree very late in the 
season. The tree is hardy ; of a handsome, open, 
spreading, and vigorous growth : the fruit is small; 
the colour a deep red, sometimes a little streaked 
with yellow ; the skin of a polished smoothness; 
the form inclining to oblong. The flesh is very 
firm, yellow, and rich ; not fit for eating until mid- 



OF FRUIT TREES. 123 

winter, when it becomes juicy, tender, and finelj 
flavoured." (Coxe.) 

16. Cider apple^ c. " Tlie apple propagated 
under this name is highly esteemed, as a most pro- 
ductive and excellent cider fruit, in the county of 
Bucks, and the contiguous parts of Pennsylvania. 
The size is middling; its appearance resembles 
the vandevere ; the skin is smooth, a lively streaked 
red : it is a pleasant table fruit, but is chiefly used 
for cider. The tree is tall; the liuibs shoot up- 
ward. It is sometnnes loaded with fruit, beyond 
any other tree in our orchards ; requiring great care 
to prevent the branches being destroyed by the 
weight of fruit. It ripens in October and Novem- 
ber." (Coxe.) 

17. Codling. The codling, called also the Eng- 
lish codhng, is a very fine fruit for pies and stewing, 
and is also a pleasant table apple. It grows very 
large and fair; the form is oblong, rather irregular; 
the skin is a bright, though pale yellow, with a fine 
blush, frequently, towards the sun; it is somewhat 
pointed towards the blossom end; the stalk short; 
the flesh white, tender and sprightly. The tree is 
uncommonly handsome, vigorous and fruitful ; bear- 
ing very young, and constantly ; the leaves are large ; 
it makes a fine appearance in an orchard. The 
fruit is fit for stewing from the first of August, but 
does not become fully ripe until the end of that 
month, and continues in season till late in October. 
It is one of the profitable apples for market ; ripen- 
ing gradually, and being very free from rot." 
(Coxe.) 

18. Corlies sweet, c. " This is a large, fair apple, 
rather long in shape, of a bright yellow colour, 
smooth skin, a faint blush, and a few small grev 
specks ; the stalk is short, and of a middling thick- 
ness ; the flesh is coarsely grained, white and sweet ; 
it ripens in September and October, but will keep 
later for cider, for which it is highly esteemed. 



124 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

The tree grows vigorouslj, with a singularly deep 
green foliage, and round head : it is a great bearer. 
It was brought from East Jersey." (Coxe.) 

19. Cooper's russeting, c. "Keeps from Octo- 
ber to May. A natural fruit, produced on the farm 
of Joseph Cooper, of New Jersey, who believes it 
to be of Indian origin ; as the tree, from which he 
(when a young man) preserved a graft, was an old 
decayed tree, and the place on which it grew w^b 
originally the site of an Indian village. It is some- 
what dry, but of a pleasant sweetish taste. This 
apple makes most excellent cider: it also is a good 
pie apple, and best when not pared. Pears, boiled 
m russeting cider, with about half sugar, make a 
good preserve. The trees bear abundantly every 
second year: the limbs spread horizontally, and are 
short. This excellent fruit, being justly esteemed, 
is much propagated by engrafting, in New Jersey." 
(Mease.) 

20. Flat swcetintr^ or hornet sweetings from the 
circumstance of its being a favourite of hornets, on 
account of its rich, siruj y juice. This is a flat ap- 
ple, thin skin, and of a yellowish colour ; flesh white, 
and juice saccliarine and pleasant. Ripe in Sep- 
tember, and will keep several months. It is doubt- 
ful whether this fruit is known out of the county of 
Plymouth. Its origin not ascertained. 

21. Gloucester white, c. "This apple is of a 
middling size ; of a shape not very uniform, vary- 
ing from an oblong to a flat form; the colour, when 
ripe, is a bright yellow ; rich, breaking and juicy ; 
of a fine flavour, as a table apple ; and producing 
cider of an exquisite taste. The stalk is of the 
ordinary length, inserted in a cavity of medium 
depth; the crown is moderately deep; the time of 
ripening is about the first of October, after which 
the fruit soon falls, and is fit for cider: it does not 
keep long, but, while in season, is a delicious table 
apple. The tree is very thrifty, hardy and vigor- 



OF FRUIT TREES. 125 

uous ; of a regular and beautiful form, and very pro- 
ductive. It is much cultivated in the lower coun- 
ties of Virginia ; from whence I procured it, as an 
apple of high reputation." (Coxe.) 

22. Golden pippin. "Keeps from October to 
January ; slightly acid ; yellow on one side, and red 
on the other: it is a good apple, according to Mr. 
Riley, and was brought from England by William 
Penn. It succeeds best on a sandy soil." 

23. Golden rennet. " A beautiful and excellent 
apple, of a bright yellow tint, marked on the south 
side with faint red streaks, and yellow brown dots; 
its flesh is remarkably tender, and of a glossy white ; 
the juice has the taste and flavour peculiar to pine 
apples, and which is also found in the golden pip- 
pin ; when stored, it ripens in December, but attains 
to perfection only in February. The tree has a 
healthy appearance, and is of a middling size." 

24. Green everlasting, " Light green colour ; 
skin remarkably smooth and fair. This apple keeps 
well, ujntil late in the summer, and some have kept 
perfectly sound more than a year from the time 
they were gathered." (Mease.) 

25. Green JVewton pippin, c. "It is of a flattish 
form, and green colour, when first gathered, turning 
3'ellow in the spring, and is justly esteemed the best 
table apple in America. It is supposed to have 
come originally from Holland, but Mr. Prince says, 
it originated in the town of Newton, Queen's coun- 
ty, Long Island, state of New York. In general, 
apples, kept till the spring, lose their flavour, and 
become mealy, but the Newton pippin may be kept 
till June, without losing either its juice or flavour. 
It is an excellent apple for cider, either alone, or 
mixed with others. Many varieties are raised from 
the seed of it, of a large size, but difl'erent in form 
and colour. Mr. Riley, of Marcus Hook, says, there 
are two varieties raised at Newton, in Chester coun- 
tv. The flat sort is much the best, and the jjreat- 



126 (CULTURE AND MANAGEMEiNT 

est bearer. It is an excellent apple for house use; 
makes a large quantity of cider, though of a thin 
quality. A large long kind, sometimes called lady- 
finger, is not so good; the taste is not so pleasant, 
and they have a thick skin. This apple is of a 
beautiful golden colour, in the spring. The trees 
of both those varieties grow larger, and are great 
bearers. Forsyth remarks, that the Newton pip- 
pin seldom ripens in England. Mr. Cooper, of 
New Jersey, remarks, that the Newton pippin does 
not thrive in a sandy soil." (Mease.) 

26. Grey house, c. " Mr. Riley, of Marcus Hook, 
thinks this is not excelled by any for making cider : 
it is of a middling size, reddish grey colour, ripe in 
October. Cider is made of it in November. Thp 
tree bears but every other year, and then is heavi- 
ly loaded. It is a very tender fruit, though late in 
blossoming. At the time of the formation of this 
fruit, it is very subject to perish by easterly winds, 
attended by cold rains, which frequently cause the 
apples to fall oif in abundance, sometimes to the 
loss of the whole crop ; and, on an average, the tree 
does not succeed in bearing a good crop above one 
fourth of the time. It was first discovered by P. 
Roman, in his township, (Marcus Hook,) by a na- 
tural tree, that grew close to his house ; hence call- 
ed his house tree, and by some, Roman knights. This 
tree is of a middling size, inclines to grow low, and 
is short lived. Twelve bushels of these apples are 
required to make a barrel of cider." (Mease.) 

27. Hav-loe crab, c. " According to Mr. Mar- 
shall, a gentleman in Herefordshire, England, Mr. 
Bellamy, produces cider from the Hagloe crab, 
which, for richness, flavour, and price on the spot, 
exceeds, perhaps, every other fruit liquor, which 
nature or art have produced. He has been offer- 
ed sixty guineas for a hogshead, containing one hun- 
dred and ten gallons of this liquor." William 
Ooxo, esquire, of Burlington, New Jersey, having 



OF PRUIT TREES. 127 

cultivated this fruit, describes it as follows: "The 
fruit, when fullj ripe, has a yellow ground, streaked 
with bright red ; the size about middling ; the form 
round, flat at the ends; the stalk large; the flesh 
remarkably soft and woolly, but not dry; the taste 
acid, but highly flavoured ; the quantity of juice 
smaller, in proportion to the fibrous matter, than 
in most other apples, requiring nearly one third 
more of the hagloes for a barrel of cider, than of 
common fruit; the juice, though uncommonly 
sheer, is singularly rich ; and though the smell of 
the apple is faint, the flavour of the cider is high, 
and, when properly manufactured, is very rich. 
The colour of the flesh is pale, but that of the 
cider, dark ; it ripens in August and September ; 
keeps a long time without rotting; it bears abun- 
dantly and early ; the growth of the tree is very 
uncommon ; thick strong shoots; buds, particularly 
at the extremity of the brandies, very large ; the 
the colour of the wood dark ; the size of the tree is 
small. The Hagloe is an uncommon fine cooking 
apple ; and from its great beauty and large size, 
added to its abundant bearing, is a valuable market 
fruit." 

28. Harrisnn apple, or lo7ig stem, c. " It is of a 
moderate size, and of a rich dry taste, with a tart- 
ness, that renders its sweetness agreeable and live- 
ly. It ripens about the beginning of November; 
keeps a long time, and answers well for culinary 
purposes. The cider made from this apple is 
clear, high coloured, rich, and lively. General 
Washington was presented with a barrel of it, by 
judge Boudinot, of Newark, New Jersey, and he 
declared his preference of it to that made from 
Hughes's Virginia crab. This fruit originated in 
Essex county. New Jersey, where it is now very 
extensively cultivated. The cider from this fruit 
sells from eight to ten dollars per barrel. Mr. 
Coxe observes, i' as a more vinous, rich and highly-e 



128 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

flavoured liquor, I prefer the Harrison to tlie crab 
cider." (Mease.) " One tree of this kind, this 
year, (1817,) in an orchard in Essex county," says 
Mr. Coxe, " produced upwards of one hundred 
bushels, eighty-seven of which Avere gathered, 
when fully ripe ; the others were fallen fruit, care- 
fully measured, to ascertain the quantity." 

29. Harty sweetings c. A small yellow apple ; 
ripens in autumn, and is considered a valuable cider 
apple, but not very useful for other purposes. 

30. High-top sweeting. This tree, it is believed, 
is peculiar to the old Plymouth colony. The first 
settlers, either from choice, or for want of other 
varieties, cultivated it more generally than any 
other apple. It is now much on the decline. The 
fruit is under the middle size ; of a yellowish colour, 
pleasant taste ; but chiefly used for baking, and for 
drying. It is ripe in August, and is not long pre- 
served. The tree is remarkable for its long up- 
right stem. 

31. Holmes apple, c. Was first planted by Z. 
Holmes, esquire, of Kingston, Plymouth county. 
He set in the ground a small sprout, without know- 
ing its qualities, and in the eleventh year he gather- 
ed from it thirty bushels of apples. It is now 
much admired, and extensively cultivated, in this 
vicinity. The tree bears young, and every year ; 
the more abundantly every second year. The 
iruit is of a middling size ; the skin white, with a 
blush on the sun side. Ripe in November; keeps 
through the winter; has a pleasant flavour; and 
makes good cider. 

32. Holien sweeting, c. It is among the excel- 
lences of this tree, tiiat it flourishes in a thin soil, 
and that it bears remarkably early, and very uni- 
formly. Ripe in September; and is an excellent 
fall apple for family use, and for cider of the first 
quality. It is deserving of general cultivation. 
No account of its origin has been obtained. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 129 

33. Hughes'' s Virginia crab, c. " A small fruit, 
Gi a light green colour, striped with red, and of a 
harsh unpleasant taste. Originated in Virginia; 
and is higlily valued as a cider fruit, as its must is 
less disposed, from its great acidity, to rise too high 
in fermentation, than that of any other apple ; and 
it has, besides, almost every other property of a 
cider apple. The trees bear abundantly ; the fruit 
ripens late, and is free from rot of any kind ; the 
fruit is small and hard, and, therefore, bears the 
fall from the tree, without bruising. It grinds 
small, and the pulp is remarkably tough, yet parts 
with its juice readily ; and the must runs from the 
press very fine and clear. 

34. Lady apple. Pomone d'apis. This is of 
French origin; of a bright red colour next the sun, 
and yellow and green on the other side. A most 
beautiful little apple, and of pleasant taste. It 
keeps well during the winter, and is a much ad- 
mired dessert apple. 

35. Lady finger. A long, tapering fruit, of a 
beautiful yellow and red colour. It is well flavour- 
ed, and keeps until June. The tree bears abun- 
dantly. 

36. Large red and green sweeting. Ripens in 
September. A very large fruit, weighing a pound. 
Red, streaked on a yellow ground; the flesh sweet 
and tender. 

37. Large early harvest. " Ripens in June and 
July. It is usually as large as a middle sized New- 
ton pippin; of a pale yellow colour, when ripe ; of 
a pleasant acid taste, and answers best for tarts, 
and may be used for that purpose, when no larger 
than a nutmeg; but cutting them in two equal 
parts, witliout peeling." (Mease.) 

38. Loring sweeting. The apple, known by this 
name, was brought from the county of Bristol, by 
Mr. E. Loring, of Plympton, Plymouth county, and 
is much cultivated in this vicinity ; its origin, or the 

17 



130 CULTURE AND MANAGEMEN'l 

name by which it is distinguished in other parts of 
the country, I have not been able to ascertain. 
The fruit is large and fair; of a pale yellow 
colour; the flesh is sweet, and extremely pleasant; 
abounding in a rich sirupy juice ; and, as a baking 
apple, it is of superiour excellence. It ripens in au- 
tumn, and retains its good properties till March. 
This fruit ought to be introduced into every or- 
chard. 

39. Lar^e yellow JVewark pippin — Yellow pippin — 
French pippin oj' JVewark, c. " Abounds near New- 
ark, New Jersey; an excellent winter apple, of a 
greenish colour outside, rich saccharine taste, yel- 
low substance, and of a higher flavour than the 
Newton pippin. It is so abundant in juice, that a 
barrel of cider has been made from seyen bushels ; 
but the cider is not of the first quality. It is said 
to have been imported from France." (Mease.) 

40. Maidcn''s blush. " This is an apple of large 
size, and great beauty ; exhibiting a lively contrast 
— a yello\y ground, with a bright red cheek ; whence 
it derives its name, given to it by Samuel Allison, 
esquire, late of Burlington, who first brought it into 
notice : the form is flat ; the skin smooth ; the flesh 
white, tender and sprightly; remarkably light, and 
fitted for drying, for which it is preferred to any ap- 
ple of the season ; the stalk is short, and grows in a 
deep hollow, as does the eye : the fruit ripens in Au- 
gust, and continues in perfection till the end of Sep- 
tember; and is fit both for pies and the table. The 
tree is uncommonly handsome, as well as vigorous 
in its growth; forraing a fine open and spreading 
head: it bears abundantly and constantly, and is a 
very popular apple in the Philadelphia market." 
(Coxe.) 

4). Michael Henry. "A winter fruit; a long 
jrreen apple, much admired for the table, in Mon- 
mouth county. New Jersey. It is a sweet, juicy, 
sprightly and well flavoured apple." 



OF FRUIT TREES. 131 

42. J\Ionstrous pippin^ or American gloria mundi. 
" It originated on the farm of Mr. CrooKs, near Red 
Hook, in New York. It is of a yellow colour, when 
ripe, and resembles in flavour the fall pippin, or pip- 
lin. It will keep from November till March. The 
fruit of the original tree weighed twenty-seven 
ounces." (Mease.) 

43. Morgan apple. " Ripe in October. So nam- 
ed by Samuel Coles, of Moorstown, New Jersey; 
as it came from the late I. Morgan. A pleasant 
eating apple ; will keep till May. A great bearer." 
(Mease.) 

44. JVewark king apple. " Is a very large red 
fruit; ripens in October, and, when mellow, has a 
very pleasant taste, and is generally used as a win- 
ter apple about Newark, New Jersey, though it 
does not keep so well as some others." 

45. JVonsuch. This is a fine red apple, having 
an agreeable flavour; will keep sound till late in 
the spring, and is much esteemed in Massachusetts, 
for its good properties. 

46. JS'ursery apple. " Is the size of the Harrison 
apple. When first ripe it is of a greenish colour, 
but in the latter part of the winter, it turns yellow. 
It is frequently kept until June and July, and has 
been kept sound until September. It originated in 
a nursery of Jos. Baldwin, at Cranetown, New Jer- 
sey." (Mease.) 

47. Pearmain, c. The winter pearmain is among 
the first cultivated apples by the fathers of the old 
Plymouth colony, and is, undoubtedly, of English 
descent. Many trees of this kind are now suppos- 
ed to be more than one hundred years old, and 
grafted trees from them produce the genuine fruit 
m great perfection. The tree is tall and upright, 
forming a handsome regular top : it is hardy, and 
will flourish in a light soil. It is not an early bear- 
er, but when attained to about twelve years, from 
having been grafted, it produces more abundantly 



132 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

and uniformly than any other kind within our know- 
ledge. The fruit is scarcely excelled as a table ap- 
ple, or for cookery ; and the cider, made from it, is 
said to be inferiour to none. The apple is of a 
moderate size ; fair and smooth; of a reddish co- 
lour, interspersed with green and yellow; the flesh 
a rich yellow ; the flavour slightly aromatick, and 
agreeable. There are two or three varieties of 
this apple, but rather of an inferiour quality. 

48. Pennock's red winter. A large, fair, pleasant, 
Spicy apple ; of an oval, and somewhat flat form ; 
of a reddish colour. It originally came from Jos. 
Pennock, of Springfield township, Delaware county. 
The tree grows large, and is very handsome ; a 
great bearer, and the fruit is in great repute in the 
Philadelphia market. 

49. Priestly. "Keeps from December to April; 
originally cultivated in Buck's county, Pennsylvania. 
A large, long, juicy fruit, and of a spicy flavour; co- 
lour red. This tree grows very straight, and is of 
a handsome shape." (Mease.) 

50. Pove-shon, c. " Is a small red apple ; ripe 
about the latter end of September; of a pleasant fla- 
vour, and makes good early cider; for which purpose 
it is generally used about Newark, New Jersey." 
(Mease.) 

51. Pound apple. "This is a large fair apple, 
very showy; the form is flat; the stalk short, and 
planted in an indented cavity : the skin is smooth, 
a pale yellow, inclining to a green, streaked with a 
lively red ; the flesh of a yellowish cast, mixed with 
a small portion of green ; juicy and sprightly ; well 
fitted for cooking ; it ripens in October, and keeps 
for several months : the tree is large, vigorous and 
spreading." (Coxc.) 

52. Quince apple. " The tree is of large and vi- 
gorous growth ; the size of the apple is large; the 
shape flat ; the skin, when fully ripe, is yellow ; tlie 
flesh rich, yellow and juicy : in appearance, it some- 



OF FRUIT TREES. 133 

what resembles a large yellow Newton pippin. It 
came originally from the state of New York. Ripens 
in November." (Coxe.) 

!)3. Queen apple. (Summer queen.) " The sum- 
mer queen is an apple of the finest quality, and its 
appearance is uncommonly beautiful. -The size is 
large ; the skin has a fine, rich, yellow ground, mix- 
ed with red, handsomely striped and clouded, some- 
times in a proportion greater than the yellow ; the 
blossom end is much pointed, and full of little fur- 
rows and protuberances ; the stalk is long, and 
planted in a deep cavity, with projections of the 
flesh around the stalk, like the Roman stem; the 
flesh is rich, yellow, and highly scented ; equally 
suited for eating and stewing. It is not fully ripe 
until the beginning of August, but can be used for 
stewing long before that time : the tree is of a very 
luxuriant growth, with large leaves, and hanging 
boughs : it is a great and constant bearer : it is 
known by the name of sweets harvest, in many 
parts of New Jersey." (Coxe.) 

54. Rariton sweetings c. " Rich flavour ; egg- 
shaped; makes good cider, ' which keeps well; 
brought from Rariton, by Mr. Ogden's father." 
(Mease.) 

55. Red everlasting. "Ripe in November; its 
colour deep red ; it is a small sized fruit, of tolera- 
ble flavour; and keeps well till June or July, but 
grows mealy and dry." (Mease.) 

56. Redling. " Was brought, about sixty years 
since, from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, by the 
mother of Mr. Jos. Cooper, who thinks it is the best 
keeping apple now known. The colour is of a light, 
shining red, and of very pleasant smell and taste. 
They hang on well, being suspended at the end oi' 
a twig- It somewhat resembles the Priestly apple." 
(Mease.) 

57. Red streak, c. " Originally from England : 
a winter fruit; keeps well, but shrinks; of a plea- 



134 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

sant flavour; red with spots, and generally has a 
russet coloured teat on the lower side. The tree 
grows straight. When used for pies, they need not 
be pared. The cider from this apple is mucii ad- 
mired." (Mease.) 

.'>8. Ramho. From Delaware ; a fine apple, of 
the size of the vandevcrc ; same shape, and a high- 
ly valued fruit. 

59. Roane's white crab, c. "This apple I procur- 
ed from colonel John Roane, of Virginia : the ori- 
ginal tree was discovered a wilding on his estate, 
in the year 1790. In growth, it resembles the 
Hewescrab; the leaves being very delicate, the 
wood hard, and the size of the tree small : it is an 
early and great bearer every second year : the ap- 
ple is very small, not larger than the Hewes crab; 
the form is round; the stalk thin; the skin yellow, 
with a small portion of russet about the stem, and 
spots of red scattered over it : the flesh is rich, dry, 
and of a musky sweetness; rough to the taste, from 
its astringent and fibrous properties, and leaving the 
pomace undissolved, after pressing : the liquor is 

•remarkably strong; 'of a su'upy consistence when 
first made, but becoming singularly bright by pro- 
per fermentation and racking. It will keep per- 
fectly sweet, in casks well bunged, and placed in a 
cool cellar, through our summer months: the fruit 
ripens in September and October, and may be kept 
without rotting, for late cider." (Coxe.) 

60. Rhode Island greening. This is a fine large 
i'air fruit ; of a green colour, when first gathered, 
and turns yellow towards spring. The flesh is rich, 
juicy, tender and very yellow. It is a most excel- 
lent apple for the table, in the first part of win- 
ter, and will keep and retain its flavour till March. 
The tree grows rapidly, spreading its luxuriant 
branches very extensively, and inclining towards the 
earth. It is doubtful whether this is the same, or 
a ditferent variety from the Jersey greening. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 135 

61. Roman stem. "This apple was first propa- 
gated in the neighbourhood of Burlington, New Jer- 
sey, where the original tree is now standing. It is 
an excellent early winter fruit, much admired for 
its tender, mild, juicy and agreeable properties : the 
size is small; the form round; the stalk of singular 
appearance, from a fleshy protuberance of the neigh- 
bouring part, resembhng an aquiline nose; whence 
the apple derives its name ; the skin is rough ; the 
colour yellow, with black clouds and spots : the 
tree is of handsome and vigorous growth, with long 
shoots, and great fruitfulness : it is in every respect 
deserving of extensive cultivation." (Coxe.) 

62. Royal pearmain, c. " Is a fine large apple ; 
rather flat in its form ; of a rich russet colour, blend- 
ed with red, faintly streaked, and dotted with spots 
of russet. The skin is rough, the flesh a rich yel- 
low, of a very sprightly taste, and firm in its tex^ 
ture : when first gathered, rather tart, but becomes 
both sweet and tender by keeping: it is a good ta- 
ble ap; le, and makes excellent cider: the size that 
of a vandevere : it ripens in October, and will keep 
till February and March : it is highly esteemed by 
the planters in Virginia, whence I procured it, from 
the neighbourhood of Richmond : the tree grows 
tall and straight, with a luxuriant foliage, and regu- 
lar form, and is a most abundant and uniform bear- 
er. This apple is known in Pennsylvania, and much 
cultivated, under the name of the Merrit's pear- 
main." (Coxe.) 

63. Royal russet, or leather coat. " This is an 
apple of moderate size, and of a flat form : when 
ripe, the side next the sun is a rich red, intermixed 
with russet, with spots of white : the flesh is well 
flavoured, sprightly and tender; the stem short and 
thick, with small swellings in the surrounding parts : 
it is a fine cooking apple ; keeps well ; and bears 
abundantly. It was imported from England, where 
it is highly esteemed as a valuable winter apple." 
(Coxe.) 



136 CULTURE AND MAiVAGEMENT 

64. Roxhury russeting, c. This is one of the 
best known, and most valuable fruits in Massachu- 
setts. The apple is rather flat, and the colour a 
yellowish russet : it is not fit to eat till February, 
and is very easily preserved till June, when its 
juice and flavour are peculiarly pleasant. The 
trees are the most constant to bear, and seldom 
bear so full as to break the limbs ; and the fruit is 
excellent for cider; and for the table, late in the 
spring. But the trees require a moist situation, 
and are less likely to thrive well in a dry soil, than 
any other kind of apple. They require also more 
manuring and care than most others, or the fruit 
will be very ordinary. 

65. Ruckmmi's pearmain^ or golden pearmain, c. 
" Called in New York and East Jersey, the Ruck- 
man's or Dutch pearmain ; and in other places, the 
red russet ; is a most valuable apple for cider, and 
for family use : the size is middling ; the form ra- 
ther flat; the skin rough, with a large portion of 
bright russet, mingled with red, towards the sun, 
when, fully ripe; the flesh is rich, tender, and 
rather dry : it is a great and uniform bearer : the 
tree grows luxuriantly, with strong shoots, and a 
close, compact head : the fruit ripens in Novem- 
ber, and keeps well through the winter." (Coxe.) 

66. Seek no further. " This apple is a native of one 
of the eastern states : it is a large fruit ; of round, 
but oblong form ; the skin smooth, of a yellowish 
green colour; the flesh yellow, juicy, rich and ten- 
der; an agreeable early winter apple. The tree 
bears well; the trunk straight and tall, shooting 
into branches upwards, in a handsome and regular 
form." (Coxe.) The seek no further^ or by some 
CdWeA signifinger^ \s much cultivated at Raynham, 
county of Bristol, where it probably originated. 
From its high reputation, it is now extending, by 
engraftments, into various parts of Massachu- 
setts. 



OF FRUIT TREES. 137 

67. Spitszenburgh. " Keeps from November to 
March. There are three sorts: The Esopus; 
Flushing ; and the Newton. The first, of a light 
red colour, round form, pleasant flavour, and slightly 
acid. The second is generally larger, and of a 
deeper red colour, covered with small white 
specks ; its form is flatter, and it is of a more acid 
taste than the first. The third species resembles 
the second in taste and colour, but in form is 
much flatter. According to Mr. S. De Witt, 
surveyor general of New York, the Spitszenburgh 
was discovered as an accidental production, in 
the neighbourhood of the city of Albany, and in his 
opinion, may challenge the world to match it. 
The flavour he thinks superiour to the Newton 
pippin. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Coles, of Moorstown, 
New Jersey, mentioned another kind, called the 
Cane Spitszenburgh, from a family of that name 
near Gloucester Point, New Jersey, and which 
they thought superiour to the kinds mentioned 
above." (Mease*) 

68. Spice apple. " Is a large autumn apple, of 
an aromatick flavour, very tender, and good for 
house use, but will not keep long. It appears to 
be peculiar to New Jersey." 

69. Styre, c. This is the most celebrated and 
extensively cultivated cider apple in England ; and 
is also a good eating apple. The size is above 
middling ; the colour of a pale yellowish white ; 
the flesli is firm, and when fully ripe, of a fine fla- 
vour : the cider, when produced from a light, rich 
soil, is rich, highly-flavoured, and of a good body ; 
its price in England is frequently fourfold of that of 
common sale cider: the fruit is pale-rinded, but 
produces a high-coloured liquor. The tree is of a 
singularly beautiful growth, remarkably besom- 
headed, throwing out numerous straight luxuriant 
shoots, growing upwards from the crown, in the 

18 



138 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

form of a willow pollard, running much to wood» 
and, in deep soils, growing to a great size before it 
becomes fruitful. It suits sandy ground. By the 
end of September it is ripe in England; generally 
the middle of October, in common years, the time of 
gathering. By Mr. Knight's experiment, the must 
outweighed all others, except that of a new varie- 
ty produced by mixing the Lalham green and Sibe- 
rian crab. Marshall states, that nearly one third 
more of Styre apples is required to produce a 
barrel of cider, compared with common apples." 
(Coxe.) 

70. Summer pearmain. " This is one of the 
finest fruits of the season ; frequently preferred to 
a fine pear. The size is middling; the form ob- 
long, uniformly regular; the ends both deeply in- 
dented ; the colour in the shade is dull red, some- 
what streaked, and faintly spotted ; in the sun it is 
frequently of a lively red, blended with a rich 
yellow : the juice is abundant, until too ripe ; the 
flesh is singularly tender; it frequently cracks 
open on the tree, and bursts from its own weight, 
in falling: it is equally adapted to the table and 
stewing, and is probably the most popular apple of 
the season, which commences with the first of 
August, and (it being very free from rotting) con- 
tinues through that and the following month. 
The tree is of a moderate size ; tlie head very 
round and close ; it grows remarkably well on 
light and sandy soils." (Coxe.) 

71. Swaar apple. Keeps from November to 
March. A large, yellow, and greenish apple, of 
good flavour ; much admired as being a winter 
table fruit, of superiour excellence. The trees 
bear largely. 

72. Sweet greening, A large, handsome apple, 
resembling in size and form, the Rhode Island 
greening. Ripens in autumn, and possesses the 
valuable property of retaining its soundness and fla- 



OP FRUIT TREES. 13Q 

vour till the middle of June. It is an excellent ap- 
ple for baking, and deserves to be more extensively 
cultivated. Its origin is uncertain, and it is doubt- 
ful whether this fine fruit is known out of the old 
Plymouth colony. 

73. Tolman sweeting. I have not been able 
to trace to its origin this justly admired apple. In 
Dartmouth, county of Bristol, where it is best 
known, it is held in much estimation for family 
use during the autumn, and through the winter. 
The fruit is above the middle size, yellow, with a 
small bluish stripe on one side : it is juicy, and the 
flavour pleasant. 

74. Vandevere^ c. " Formerly called stalcubs. 
A well known and most excellent eating fruit ; 
pleasant, and sprightly acid, joined with a sweetish 
taste, and much preferred for pies and sauces. 
Unfortunately the trees have greatly failed of late. 
On a rich heavy soil, they are subject to the bitter 
rot ; on a light soil, not so much so. Mr. Riley, 
of Marcus Hook, says, this apple originally came 
from Wilmington, Delaware, and was called after a 
farmer who raised it." (Mease.) 

75. Vanwinkle, or granniwinkle, c. " Is a large, 
red, and very sweet apple; rich taste, and fine 
flavour : ripe about the middle of October, wheiii the 
fruit falls, and decays so rapidly that it is difficult to 
preserve the apple till the proper time for making 
first rate cider. These apples answer best, when 
mixed with half their quantity of the Harrison ap- 
ple. Cider made from this apple alone, resembles 
unfermented metheglin, and must remain in the 
barrel until the next summer, when it will fine. 
The tree originated in the orchard of Thomas 
Williams, deceased, according to Mr. Hillyes, of 
Orange ; but Mr. .John Ogden, of Newark, says, 
he was told the first graft was taken from a tree 
belonging to an old lady, Mrs. Van Winkle Povc- 
shon." (Mease.) 



140 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

76. Wine apple, c. " An uncommonly large, lair, 
handsome, red apple. The form is round ; flat at 
the ends : the skin is a lively red, streaked and spot- 
ted with a small portion of yellow; the stalk end 
frequently of a russet colour ; both ends deeply in- 
dented ; the stalk very short : the taste is rich and 
pleasant ; an admired table fruit, and excellent for 
cooking, as well as for cider: it ripens in October, 
and keeps well through the fall and winter. The 
tree is uncommonly large and handsome ; the leaves 
small ; it bears abundantly ; from its spreading 
form it does not require much trimming : it is pro- 
bably as saleable an apple as any sold in the Phi- 
ladelphia market. In the state and county of 
Delaware, it is called the Hays winter ; and in one 
place in New Jersey, the fine winter, and large 
winter red. I have been informed, that the origi- 
nal cultivator of this apple made admirable cider, 
by throwing about one shovel full of sandy loam 
into a pressing, which had an effect in lessening the 
acidity, and made a clear, sweet liquor, by this no- 
vel mode of fining." (Coxe.) 

77. Wine sap, c. " An autumn fruit, of a deep 
red colour, and sweet, but not sprightly taste; 
makes excellent cider, which is preferred by some 
to that of the red streak, cultivated by Samuel 
Coles, of Moorstown, New Jersey^" 

78. Yellow sweeting, c. " A large, yellow, sweet 
apple ; will keep till harvest ; makes good cider, 
and answers for family use. Mr. J. Ogden's father 
took the scion from an old tree of J. Johnston's, at 
Connecticut farms, fifty years ago." (Mease.) 



OP FRUIT TREES. 141 



CIDER. 



I HAVE now the satisfaction of presenting the moat 
ample and approved rules and directions relative to 
tJtes'iraportant art of manufacturing and preserving 
that valuable and salubrious beverage, the produce 
of our orchards. The importance of the subject 
will justify the extent and minuteness of detail 
which occupy the following pages, and it is hoped 
the reader will find them, in the perusal, interest- 
ing and profitable. 

" The value of fruits, for the manufacture of cider, 
may be judged of from the specifick gravity of their 
expressed juices. The best cider and perry are 
made from those apples and pears that afford the 
densest juices ; and a comparison between different 
fruits may be made with tolerable accuracy, by 
plunging them together into a saturated solution of 
salt, or a strong solution of sugar : those that sink 
deepest, will afford the richest juice." 

The first a'lthority of which I avail myself, is to 
be found in papers on agriculture, by the Massachu- 
setts society for promoting agriculture, vol. i. 

"OF MAKING AND MANAGING CIDER. 

" From the apple, in our country, we obtain a 
beverage highly useful. The wines of other coun- 
tries do not differ more in quality, than the cider of 
ours. And much of this difference arises from im- 
proper management, either in grinding the apples, 
or, what is more common, putting the must or juice 
into foul casks, and neglecting or mismanaging it 
while fermenting. Mr. Marshall asserts, that a 
gentleman in Herefordshire, (England,) Mr. Bella- 
my, produces cider from an apple called the Hagloe 



142 CULTURE AND MANAGEME^T 

crab, which, for richness, flavour and price on the 
spot, exceeds perhaps every other fruit liquor, which 
nature or art have produced. He has been offered 
sixty guineas for a hogshead of one hundred and ten 
gallons of this liquor. Thus we see how capable the 
fruit from the apple tree is of inaprovement. We 
are favoured with the observations of a gentlemu« 
residing near Philadelphia, on the making and fer- 
menting cider, and his directions to preserve the 
casks that have been used for cider. He begins 
thus : 'It would be to little purpose, at present, to 
say much on the kinds of fruit capable of yielding 
the best cider, yet it may be proper to mention 
those most common here, and give them a place ac- 
cording to their respective merits. The sweet rus- 
set, called the pair apple, is unquestionably the rich- 
est fruit we have; the house apple stands second: 
they both yield very sweet must, and consequent- 
ly, specifically heavier than that of any other apple. 
The Newton pippin yields its must free from the 
liner pumice, and, although not so rich, from that 
circumstance, ferments more moderately, and is soon- 
est fine in the cask. The Spitszenburgh and pear- 
main I do not rank among the cider apples, because 
they seldom afford a must that will bear fermenta- 
tion, except the season be uncommonly dry, or the 
trees very old. The largest and finest fruit grows 
on voung trees, and in moist seasons, and these yield 
the greatest quantity of cider. Old trees and dry 
seasons afford a smaller fruit, highly flavoured, and 
less juicy. The vandevere is little better than good 
water cider. If it be fermented, it very soon be- 
comes acid, and if not fermented, becomes ropy. 
The red streak, the cockagee, and the royal wilding, 
so famous in England and Ireland, are not known 
Jiere, but the Virginia crab well enough supplies 
the place of them all. This apple deserves every 
possible attention, as its must is less disposed, from 



OP FRUIT TREES. 143 

its great acidity, to rise too high in fermentation, 
than that of any apple known here. Were there 
no other advantages, this simple one would render 
it exceedingly valuable to the common farmer, who 
will be hardly brought to pay attention to the nice 
operation of fermenting the sweeter fruits ; but it 
has almost every other good property of a cider apple. 
The trees bear abundantly, the fruit ripens late, and 
is free from rot of any kind ; the fruit is small and 
hard, and therefore bears the fall from the tree 
without bruising. It grinds small, and the pulp is 
remarkably tough, yet parts with its juice readily; 
hence the must runs from the press very fine. It 
would be going beyond my present object, to say- 
much more of this apple ; yet I cannot forbear ob- 
serving, that being acid, it will bear to stand in the 
pumice longer than any sweeter apple. This fact 
deserves more attention than is commonly given to 
it; and if the time and occasion would admit, I should 
indulge myself in speaking largely on it.' 

" As the inquiry is how to make the best cider, 
there need not any thing be said of imperfect fruit, 
or that which falls from the tree early in the sea- 
son, as they cannot be applied to this purpose ; the 
September gale beating down such great quantities 
of apples, tempts the farmer to use them with those 
that continued longer on the tree. But where this 
gale happens early, the effects are fatal to the ci- 
der : for, if they are made up immediately, the fer- 
mentation rises too high, in consequence of the too 
great degree of heat in the air; and this evil is in- 
creased by tlie imperfect and great quantity of juice 
contained in the fruit ; if they remain unground, 
they become insipid, especially those which lay on 
the ground under the trees ; and if gathered ia 
heaps, they are disposed to rot. To make the best 
cider, you must have sound fruit, gathered late in 
the season, in dry weather, after the middle of Oc- 
tober, if possible. They should lay in large heaps, 



144 CULTURE AND MANAGEMEWl' 

covered from the dews and rain, about fourteen 
days; in which they heat, and throw off a great 
proportion of their indigested and insipid water, and 
ripen more uniformly than while on the tree. They 
must not be ground while they are wet, either from 
the rain, the dew, or from the moisture thrown out 
by the heat produced by their laying together. 
The finer the apple is ground, the more it will 
yield. If the mill is well fitted, it crushes the seed, 
and gives a peculiar aromatick bitter to the must, 
which becomes more and more distinguishable as 
the cider is longer kept. Some prefer this flavour; 
others dislike it, not distinguishing it from the bit- 
ter of the rotten apples, although very different from 
that pungent bitter, both in taste on the palate, and 
effects in the stomach. If straw is used in forming 
the cheese for the press (cloth made of hair is best, 
but very expensive) it must be clean from rust ; for 
there is no liquor which more readily imbibes and 
betrays offensive tastes than cider. Too hard press- 
ing on the cheese, before it is sufficiently closed, 
presses out the pulp with the must, and it is in all 
cases necessary to return the first running on to the 
cheese, until you perceive it free from pulp. If 
you choose a pale cider, the pumice must be press- 
ed as soon as possible from the mill : the colour is 
raised by exposing it longer, and in greater surfaces 
to the air. The aptness in cider to imbibe foreign 
tastes, renders an exact attention to your vessels of 
great importance. New vessels, made of seasoned 
oak, do very well ; but those that have been used 
are better, provided they be kept sweet and clean. 
To effect this, when a cask is empty, rinse it with 
cold water immediately, otherwise the lees will sour, 
and fix an acid that can hardly be removed ; and if 
long continued, dries on the staves so hard as to re- 
quire much labour in scrubbing it off: in this case, 
it should be white-washed with lime, and after a 
few days washed again ; when it is rinsed perfectly 



OF FRWT TREE6. 145 

dean with cold water, pour into a hogshead at least 
six gallons of" boihng water. Roll and shake the 
>\'ater to every part of the cask, so as to heat it on 
all sides. Then pour out the water, and lay your 
cask exactly bung-hole downwards, the water run- 
ning clear and entirely off; the heat in the cask will 
dry it perfectly. In this state, bung it up as care- 
fully as if filled with your choicest liquors, and it will 
remain perfectly sweet, and fit for use in the fol- 
lowing season. It is best, however, to inspect each 
cask before you fill it. This is done by fixing a 
candle to a wire three feet long, and letting down 
the candle through the bung-hole into the cask; 
you can then see every part of it on the inside as 
distinctly as on the outside. If they are clean, it is 
best not to rinse them with water. It may appear 
singular to you that so much is said on a case that 
is plain to every one ; but believe me, you may take 
ten times the trouble in another way, and not effec- 
tually cleanse your vessels ; and unless they are per- 
fectly sweet, it is impossible to have good cider. 
The must, or juice of the apple, being obtained, the 
first object is to clear it of pumice : the second, t© 
produce a fermentation to your palate and purpose. 
"The most expeditious mode of doing the first 
in the great way, is by putting the must in large 
open vessels, there to stand until the first appear- 
ance of fermentation.* This comes on sooner or 
later, from circumstances too various for our present 
consideration at large. It may serve the purpose to 
consider the operation, as dependent on the degree 
of heat in the air at the time : perhaps sixty hours 
is long enough to be wished for. During that time 
the heaviest of the pulp sinks to the bottom; the 

* Hogsheads, or even barrels, answer very well with a head 
out, where there are plenty of casks ; but it is as well done in 
the casks you intend to ferment in, provided you attend to the 
first appearance of fermentation at the bunghole, and remove- the 
pulp entirely out of the cask. 

19 



146 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

larger and lighter parts rise to the surface, where it 
remains until the fermentation hcgins; but the fer- 
mentation would involve great part of the pulp, both 
from above and below, into the body of the liquor,, 
and increase the fermentation beyond our control. 
It must therefore be removed before this effect be 
produced. Soon after the fermentation bcgiiis, the 
covering on the top of the must cracks and separates, 
when there is not a moment to be lost before you 
draw it into your casks, leaving the pulp behind. 
In this cask it undergoes the first of the fermenta- 
tion for eight or ten days ; but before this most 
difficnlt part of the art of making the best cider can 
be well understood, there are so many points to be 
considered of, that I have always hesitated to give 
my opinion of it, from a certainty that the subject 
would become tedious beyond sufferance. There 
are, however, a few obvious principles of great im- 
portance, which may be borne with. 

" Cider requires a very gentle fermentation, and 
ought to be confined between forty-four and forty- 
eight degrees of heat (by Fahrenheit's thermome- 
ter.) Musts, of all kinds, increase their heat by fer- 
mentation. Liquors, of all kinds, will not be colder 
than the air in which they stand. It is easy to 
comprehend, if these are facts, the impossibility of 
makmg ^oocZ cider, when the medium heat of the 
day exceeds forty-eight degrees. I say the medium 
heat of the day, because our best cellars being fifty 
degrees of heat in the latter end of October, ren- 
ders them, generally, unfit for fermenting cider, and 
involves a necessity of having your first fermentation 
above ground, where the heat of the day will have 
its effect. Hence the known fact that cider fer- 
ments most kindly in the shade, on the north side of 
your buildings, wherever the cool nights of the fall 
reduce the medium heat of the day below forty- 
eierht deorees. Durins: the first fermentation above- 
mentioned, attention must be given to it, that, in 



OF FRUIT TREHS. 147 

case of rising above forty-eight degrees, it should 
be racked off early in the morning, (before sunrise, 
if the weather be warm for the season;) this rack- 
ing checks the increase of heat occasioned by the 
fermentation: but in late made cider there is sel- 
dom a necessity of racking in less than eight or ten 
days; at which time there will be a considerable 
quantity of lees fallen to the bottom of the cask, 
from which the cider should now be removed. 

" If the air in the cellar be fallen to forty-six de- 
grees, or below, you may place the cider in it, leav- 
ing, however, the windows and doors open in the 
night, until the air becomes as low as forty degrees, 
(the heat, in my judgment, best for cider during the 
winter, provided it could be had without artificial 
heat, which is too difficult to manage, to be applied 
in cellars.) 

" The earlier made cider, checked in its fermen- 
tation by water from time to time, becomes soon 
fine, and is a very pleasant drink. That made later, 
and checked in the same manner, with the propor- 
tion of one fourth water, is soonest fine, and, during 
the winter, is not inferiour to the best cider unmix- 
ed. 

"During the whole time of fermentation the casks 
must be kept full, so that the yeast, pulp gas, or 
whatever you please to call that matter which rises 
in fermentation, may be thrown out of the cask, and 
not return into the liquor : for if it does, it operates 
as yeast, renews the fermentation, and will destroy 
the cider, 

" In about five weeks after the first racking, it 
should be again racked, taking care to draw off 
none of the lees. The bungs may be left out a 
month longer without any ill consequence, or at most 
laid lightly on the bung-hole, when it may be pro- 
per, if the fermentation is ended, to bung it down; 
in a few weeks it will be fine spontaneously, provid- 
ed the fermentation has been well conducted. If 



148 CULTUllE AND MANAGEMENT 

any part of the process has been injudicious, or un- 
avoidably wrong, and the cider be not fine by the 
20th or 25th of February, it should be forced 
with isinglass. But let me warn you not to at- 
tempt fining it after the 20th of March, unless your 
cellar be uncommonly secured from air. For the 
spring will as certainly produce a motion in your 
Older, as blossoms on the trees; at which time glu- 
tinous finings, retaining the air produced or separat- 
by this new fermentation, will be either retained 
from falling down in the cask, or borne to the sur- 
face of the liquor. Three staples of isinglass, dis- 
aolved in cider, is sufficient for a hogshead. It 
should be pulled into small pieces, and covered with 
cider in an earthen vessel, adding a quart of cider 
to it every six hours, till it is dissolved; stirring it 
frequently. When dissolved, which it will be in 
two or three days, strain it through a coarse cloth ; 
add a gallon or two of cider, and pour it into the 
cask, stirring the whole together with a stick. 
Leave the bung out; it will generally fine in four or 
five days. It must not remain above ten or twelve 
days at most on the finings ; if you do not bottle it, 
it must be racked again into other casks ; the bot- 
tles must be dry ; three drops of water will destroy 
a bottle of cider, after it has been well fermented, 
more effectually than a pint will before il is fer- 
mented. 

" In corking cider, or other weak liquors, no wa- 
ter should touch the corks ; dip them in cider the 
moment in which you drive them; they will drive 
the easier for this. If cider is to be kept in casks 
after May, early in the spring cover the bungs with 
rosin, or cement of some kind : to do this, open a 
spile hole while the cement is laid on; otherwise 
no art can cover the bung effectually : the air from 
within will force up the cement through the small- 
est passage, a»d disappoint a thousand attempts to 
fill it up: when covered, and the cement cooled^ 



OP FRUIT TREES. 149 

make the cask tight by driving an oaken spile into 
the hole. Inferlour cider, for the harvest field, is 
kept by adding a gallon of cider brandy to a barrel. 
The method I have directed above, produces a fine 
sweet cider, retaining the taste of the apple. More 
frequent racking weakens the body and preserves 
the sweetness ; fewer rackings, and laying long on 
the lees, renders it harsher and more heady. If 
eider be well fermented in due time^ you may freeze 
it down to any strength ; taking care to draw it oflf 
before a thaw comes on. If cider be imperfectly 
fermented, the spring produces the fermentation 
anew, and it will destroy itself, unless preserved by 
distilled spirits, or by brimstone, which last is too 
offensive to be used." 

The following is extracted from Willich's Do^ 
mestick Encyclopedia. 

" The apples should remain on the trees till 
they are thoroughly ripe, when they ought to be 
gathered with the hand, in dry weather, that they 
may be protected both from bruises and from mois- 
ture. They are are then to be sorted, according 
to their various degrees of maturity, and laid in 
separate heaps, in order to sweat ; in consequence 
of which they greatly improve. This practice, 
however, appears to be useful only for such fruit 
as is not perfectly ripe, though some recommend it 
as being proper for all apples. The duration of 
the time of sweating may be determined by the 
flavour of the fruit, as diiferent kinds require va- 
rious lengths of time; namely, from eight or ten 
days to six weeks. The harsher and more crude 
the apples are, the longer it is necessary that they 
should remain in a sweating state, and not only be 
well dried, but the rotten parts carefully pared, 
before they are exposed. 

" The utility of the sweating practice is acknow- 
iedgcd in all the cider countries, though various 



150 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

methods have been adopted in following it; as the 
apples are piled up either in the open air, or under 
cover in houses. In the South-hams, a middle way 
has been adopted, to avoid the fermentation occa- 
sioned by pihng them up in houses, and which wc 
recommend as the best, and most rational. Heaps 
of fruit are raised in an open part of the orchard, 
where, by means of a free air and less heat, the 
desired maturity is gradually effected, with an in- 
considerable waste of the juice and decay of the 
fruit, which thus becomes almost totally divested 
of rancidity. And, though a few apples will rot, 
even in this manner, they are still fit for use : all 
of them continue plump and full of juice, and 
heighten in a considerable degree the colour of the 
liquor, without imparting to it any disagreeable 
smell or taste. 

" The fruit is then to be ground till the rind and 
kernels are well bruised : a process which will 
considerably improve the flavour and strength of 
the liquor, when it should be allowed to stand a 
day or two in a large open vessel. It is next 
jjressed between several hair-cloths, and the liquor 
received in a vat, whence it is removed into casks, 
which ought to be placed in a cool situation, or in 
the free air, with their bung holes open. These 
casks are to be sedulously watched, till the cider 
drops fine, when it is to be immediately racked off 
from the lees into other vessels. The first racking 
is a most important operation ; as cider, which is 
suffered to become foul again, by missing the first 
opportunity of racking it when fine, will never be- 
come what is called a prime liquor. After the 
clear part has been racked off, a quantity of lees or 
dregs remains, which, when filtered through coarse 
linen bags, yields a bright, strong, but extremely 
flat liquid: if this be added to the former portion, 
it will greatly contribute to prevent fermentation, 
an excess of which will make the cider thin 



OP FRUIT TREESi 151 

and acid. To avoid such an accident, the casks 
should neither be entirely filled, nor stopped down 
too close ; and if the whole incline to ferment, it 
ought again to be racked. This latter opera- 
tion, however, should, on no account, be repeated, 
unless from absolute necessity; as every racking 
diminishes its strength. 

" When there are no signs of any farther fer-^ 
mentation, the casks should be filled up with cider 
of the best quality, and the bung hole firmly closed 
with rosin. 

" This method of making cider is that chiefly 
followed in Herefordshire. Considerable quanti- 
ties of this liquor are also made in Devonshire, 
where the process varies but little from that pur- 
sued in the county before mentioned. Several far- 
mers, however, instead of racking, j^/ie it with isin- 
glass steeped in white wine, dissolved over the 
fire, and then boiled in a quantity of the liquor in- 
tended to be fined : in this state, it is added to 
that in the cask. Others, instead of dissolving the 
isinglass over the fire, digest it in white wine for 
the space of four or five weeks, during which time 
it acquires the consistence of a jelly ; a quantity of 
this being beaten up with some of the liquor, the 
whole is worked into a froth, and mingled with the 
rest. As soon as the cider becomes clear, it i5 
drawn, or bottled off, as occasion may require. 

" Those who are anxious to prepare good cider, 
ought diligently to watch every change of the wea- 
ther, however slight ; as the least neglect, at such 
times, is often detrimental to many hogsheads. In 
summer the danger is much greater than in winter. 
There is, however, scarcely any distemper inci- 
dent to this liquor, which may not, by a timely ap« 
plication, be easily remedied. If it become some- 
what tart, about half a peck of good wheat, boiled 
and hulled in a manner similar to rice, may be put 
into each hogshead, which will effectually restore 



132 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

it ; and also contribute to preserve it, when drawn 
out of one cask into another. Such a remedy is 
doubtless far preferable to that odious custom prac- 
tised by too many cider merchants, who put animal 
substances into their liquors, namely, veal, pork, 
beef, mutton, and even horse flesh, for the purpose 
of fining them. This singular expedient, though 
sanctioned by the usage of ancestors, we think it 
our duty to reprobate ; because it is fraught with 
mischievous eiiects on the constitution of those, who 
are doomed to drink the cider thus adulterated. 
'By allowing a small quantity to stand in an open 
vessel for two or three days, in a warm room, the 
fetid exhalation of the liquor will easily discover its 
ingredients. 

" The best cider is that made from a red-streak 
apple, grafted upon a gennct-moil stock. These two 
varieties of the apple tree agree well together, and 
their trunks seldom canker, as others are apt to do, 
especially when the former is grafted on crab 
trees. The iruit of the red streak, obtained from 
the former combination, is always larger and mild- 
er; and when ripe, not only most delicious eating, 
but also affords a mellower liquor th^n the same 
fruit produced by the latter mixture." 

" There have been," says Dr. Mease, (Dom. 
Ency.) " numerous receipts published to make ci- 
der, some of which have occasioned considerable 
losses. A few general and important rules will be 
given for insuring good cider, and afterwards some 
particular directions, founded on experience. 

" 1. The first and indispensable requisite for mak- 
ing good cider, is to choose perfectly ripe and sound 
fruit. Farmers, in general, are very inattentive to 
these points, but it is utterly impossible to make 
good cider, unless they be attended to. 

" 2. The apples ought to be hand-picked, or 
caught in a sheet, when the tree is shook. When 
they fall on the ground, they become bruised, and 



OF FRUIT TREES. 153 

S8 it ftequently happens that they remain for some 
hours before pressing; the apples are apt to com- 
municate St bad taste to the liquor from the bruis- 
ed part. 

" 3. After having sweated, and before being 
ground, the apples should be wiped, in order to 
remove a clammy moisture which covers them, 
and which, if permitted to remain, would impove- 
rish the cider. 

" 4. The practice above noted, to press the 
pumice in hair-cloths, is certainly much preferable 
to the common American custom of enclosing it io 
bands of straw; because the straw, when heated 
in the mow or sack, gives the cider a bad taste. 

"5. After the cider has run from the press, it 
has been directed to strain it through hair sieves 
into a large open vat, which will contain a whole 
making, or as much as can be pressed in one day. 
When the cider has remained in this vat a day, or 
sometimes less, according to the ripeness of the 
fruit of which it has been made, and state of the 
weather, the pumice, or grosser parts of the pulp, 
will rise to the top, and in a few hours, or after a 
day or two at furthest, will grow very thick, and 
when little white bubbles break through it, draw 
it olf through a cock or faucet hole, within three 
inches from the bottom, and the lees may quietly 
remain behind. This operation is of great impor- 
tance, as the sinking of the feculent matter would 
greatly injure the liquor. 

" 6. On drawing olf the cider from the vat, it 
must be tunned into clean casks, and closely watch- 
ed, to prevent the fermentation ; when, therefore, 
white bubbles, as mentioned above, are perceived 
at the bung-hole, rack it again immediately ; after 
which it will probably not ferment until March, 
when it must be racked off as before, and, if pos*^ 
sible. in clear weather. 
20 



i54 CULTURE AND MANAiSEIVIE.VT 

' " 7. It is of <yreat consequence to prevent the 
escape of the carbomck acid,or\]\ed air, from cider, 
as on this principle all its briskness depends. To 
effect this, various expedients have been contrived. 
In the state of Connecticut, where much cider is 
made, it is a common practice to pour a tumbler of 
ohve oil into the bung-hole of every cask. Upon 
the same principle we have lately heard of a man, 
who boasted that he had drunk brisk beer out of 
the same cask for five years, and that his secret 
was to cover the surface of the liquor with olive 
oil. Dr. Darwin also says, he was told by a gen- 
tleman who made a considerable quantity of cider 
on his estate, that he procured vessels of stronger 
construction than usual, and that he directed the 
apple juice, as soon as it was settled, to be bunged 
up close, and that though he had had one vessel or 
two occasionally burst by the expansion of the fer- 
menting liqaor, yet that this rarely occurred, and 
that his cider never failed to be of the most excel- 
lent quality, and was sold at a great pficei. 

*' To prevent a succeed lr»g fermentation, put in 
a handful of powdered clay; and to preserve it> 
add one quart of apple brartdy to '■each barrel. 
Every cask must be tilled up and closely bunged. 

" 8. When care has been taken to prevent the 
precipitation of the feculent matter which rises in 
the cider, good liquor will generally fine without ar- 
tificial means ; but sometimes it is necessary to fine 
after the last racking, when the abovementioned 
article has been found to answer very efiectually, 
if used in the following way. For a barrel, cut 
one ounce of isinglass fine, put it into a pint of wa- 
ter, stir it frequently, and make a thick jelly. Di- 
lute this with cider, strain and mix it well with the 
liquor in the cask, by means of a long clean stick. 

" The editor has known an ounce of orris root, 
in powder, give a pleasant flavour to cider. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 155 

" A friend directs cider to be bottled in July, to 
fill the bottles within two inches of the top, letting 
them stand twelve hours open before corking. Use 
strong porter bottles, and the best velv^ct corks. 
The bottling should be done in clear weather. 

" For the following communication on the mak- 
ing and fining of cider, the editor is indebted to Jo- 
seph Cooper, esquire, of New Jersey. 

" ' Cider is an article of domestick manufacture, 
which is, in my opinion, worse managed than 
any in our country; perhaps the better way to 
correct errours is to point out some of the princi- 
pal ones, and then to recommend better plans. 

" ' Apples are commonly collected when wet, 
and thrown into a heap, exposed to sun and rain, 
until a sourness pervades the whole mass, then 
ground, and for want of a trough or other vessels 
sufficient to hold a cheese at a time, the pumice is 
put on the press as fast as ground ; and a large 
cheese is made, which requires so much time to 
finish and press off, that a fermentation comes on 
in the cheese before all the juice is out ; and cer- 
tain it is, that a small quantity of the juice pressed 
out after fermentation comes on, will spoil the 
product of a whole cheese, if mixed therewith. 
When either of the above errours will spoil cider, 
we need not wonder at the effect of a combina- 
tion of the whole, as frequently happens. As I 
have very often exported cider to the West In- 
dies, and to Europe, and also sold it to others 
for the same purpose, without even hearing of 
any spoiling; and as it is my wish to make the 
productions of our country as useful as possible, 
I will give an account of my method of making 
this valuable liquor. 

" ' I gather the apples when dry, put them on a 
floor under cover, and have a trough large enough 
to hold a cheese at once, and when the weather 
is warm, I grind them late in the evening, spread- 



J 56 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ing the pumice over the trough to air it, as the 
cider will thereby be enriched, and a fine amber 
colour in it be produced : and here it may be re- 
marked, that the longer a cheese lies after being 
ground, before pressing, the better Jor the cider, pro- 
vided it escapes fermentation until the pressing is 
completed. The following experiment will render 
this evident : — Bruise a tart apple on one side, and 
let it lay until brown: then taste the juice of each 
part, and it will be found that the juice of the 
bruised part is sweet and rich: so if sweet and 
tart apples are ground together, and put imme- 
diately on the press, the liquor which they pro- 
duce will have the taste of both kinds of fruit ; but 
if permitted to lie until the pumice become browr^ 
the cider will be greatly improved. 

" ' I take great care to put cider in clean sweet 
casks, and the only way to effect this is, to rinse or 
scald them well as soon as the cider is out, and not 
to permit them to stand with the lees, which will 
certainly cause them to become sour, or musty, or 
to smell. When my casks are filled, I place them 
in the shade, exposed to the northern air ; and 
when fermentation takes place, I fill them up once 
or more, to cause as much of the feculent matter as 
possible to discharge from the bung; when a clear 
white froth comes out, I put in the bung loosely, 
or bore a hole in it and put in a spile, thereby 
checking the fermentation gradually. After this 
has subsided, I take the first opportunity of clear 
cool weatlier, and rack it oft' into clean casks, 
which I prepare thus. When I draw cider out of 
a cask in which it has fermented, I rinse it with 
cold water, and put in two or three quarts of fine 
gravel, and three or four gallons of water ; the 
cask is well shaken or rolled, to sCour oft" the sedi- 
ment always adhering to the cask, and which, if not 
removed, will act as a ferment to the liquor when 
returned to the cask, and spoil or greatly injure 
the lii^uor. 



OP PRUIT TREES. 157 

•* * After scouring the casks, I again rinse thern^ 
and I find advantage from burning a match of sul- 
phur suspended in the cask by a wire, after putting 
m two or three buckets of cider. A convenient 
way to perform this process is to have a long taper- 
ing bung, so as that between the two ends it will 
fit any hole ; to the small end of this bung drive in 
a wire with a hooked end to hold the match. If 
the cider stands a week or more after racking, pre- 
viously to being put away in the cellar I rack it 
again, rinsing the casks, but not with gravel, and 
remove them to the cellar. The late made cider 
I put in the cellar immediately after, or before the 
first racking, according as the weather may happen 
to be. The cider intended to be kept till summer, 
I rack in clear, cool weather, in the latter end of 
February or beginning of March ; the casks must 
be kept full, and bunged as tight as possible.' 

" Mr. Cooper fines with the isinglass jelly, men- 
tioned above ; but in case the liquor should not fine 
in ten days, he directs to rack it again, and repeat 
the fining as before, but says it is best to rack it, 
whether fine or not, in ten or twelve days, lest the 
sediment should rise, which often happens. Mr. 
Cooper adds, ' The foregoing operation should be 
performed previously to the apples being in bloom, 
but I have succeeded best in the winter during 
steady cool weather. I have likewise had good 
success in finmg cider directly from the press ; 
when this is done, I set the casks with one head 
out, but covered, put in taps, and let them remain 
in a cool place, properly fixed for drawing, when 
the fermentation ceases, and the scum begins to 
crack. I take it off carefully with a skimmer, and 
draw it from the sediment. If not sufficiently fine 
before the middle of winter, I fine it again, as 
above.' " 

If the above recited details do not embrace com- 
pletely the entire subject of cider-making, the- £ol- 



1,58 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

lowing elaborate and most valuable communicatioH 
from John Lowell, esquire, will supply every defi- 
ciency, and cannot fail of being acceptable. From 
Mass. Agricultural Repository, vol. iv. 



" Some remarks on the necessity and importance of improving 
the manufacture of Cider, introductory to some extracts Iroin 
approved English and French works on that subject. By the 
Corresponding Secretary." 

In his introductory part, Mr. Lowell observes, 
that *' there is nothing of which a good farmer is so 
proud, as of his orchard ; and the state of the or- 
chard is generally a pretty good test of the charac- 
ter of the man as to mdustry and capacity at least. 
Our climate and soil are well adapted to the apple 
tree, and it certainly is desirable, that cider should 
continue to be the general drink of the New Eng- 
land people. It is greatly to be desired that this 
liquor should be improved in its quality as much as 
possible. The quality of our cider, as it is com- 
monly drunk, particularly in the country, is infe- 
riour to that of any cider country in the world, and 
much inferiour to that of New Jersey." In the 
'Opinion of Mr. L. some of the causes of the ill 
quality of our cider, compared with that of New 
Jersey or Europe,maybe resolved into the following : 

" 1. Inattention to the selection of proper fruits 
in making our orchards. 

"2. Neglect to separate the different sorts of 
apples, so that those only which are of an equal 
degree of ripeness should be ground together. 
What sort of wine do you suppose would be made, 
if the ripe and unripe grapes were all put into the 
-same press? Is cider an exception to the common 
laws on this subject ? How can it be expected that 
cider should pass regularly through the process of 
fermentation, when it is composed of liquor in vari- 
ous stages of ripeness ? Some farmers,we know, arc 



OP FRUIT TREES. 159 

attentive to this point, and othei-s must have felt 
the good effects of it. 

" 3. The tiiird cause of the indifferent quahty of 
our cider, is the process of making it. 
';" And, lastly, gross inattention to it, after it is 
made. 

'* I shall consider each of these points separate- 
ly, and instead of showing the existing defects, I 
shall take from the most approved English and 
French works, directions on all these heads. Let 
our farmers read them; if they are conscious that 
their practice is defective on any of the points 
mentioned, they will have instructions how to reme- 
dy them. If they think their own practice better, 
let them, for the publick good, communicate that 
practice to the society for the promotion of agri- 
culture, and the society will make it known. 

" The first point of attention, in which we are 
defective, is the selection of proper fruit for mak- 
ing cider. I believe there is not an orchard in 
Massachusetts, planted on the principles laid down 
by writers on this subject. I believe there is no 
one apple selected in preference as a cider apple. 
There are trees grafted for winter fruit, but our 
cider generally takes the refuse of all our apple 
trees. 

" The first work I shall cite on this subject, is a 
treatise on cider-making, by H. Stafford, esquire, of 
Devonshire, Great Britain. 

" ' Some are of opinion, that with good manage- 
ment any kinds of apples may be made to produce 
good cider, but experienced farmers do not concur 
with them. I have, indeed, tasted of cider, made 
of common fruits, extremely sweet, but for want of 
sprightliness mixed with it, it soon palled or be- 
came sour. 

" ' In Devonshire, it is a maxim worth observance, 
that in planting an orchard, the several excellences 
of the kinds intended for that purpose, should be 



i6D culture and management 

previously well considered, whether they are likely 
to make lasting, large, and fruitful trees, as well as 
hardy, not subject to blights; that they produce 
fruit which will make the best cider, and that all 
the kinds may ripen about the same time, or at 
least, enough at one time to make a good cheese 
for one pressing, which last property is ol' no small 
consequence for the making of cider.' Who among 
us has followed such rules, and yet who will deny 
they are wise ?" 

That portion of this excellent communication, 
which relates to the planting an orchard, is omitted 
as superfluous, since the subject has been fully con- 
sidered in the foregoing pages. 

" The Complete Farmer's Dictionary gives the 
following additional hints on this part of our sub- 
ject. They are the advice of a Herefordshire 
planter. That county is famous for its excellent 
cider. 

" ' The worse the apple is for the table, the bet- 
ter it is in general esteemed for cider, such as are 
harsh and crabbed to the taste. They are called 
Fed streak, white and green musts, &c. &c. of all 
which I prefer the red streak. Generally, the red- 
der the apple, the better it is for cider. The paler 
the rind, the worse the juice. A sweet apple with 
a tough skin will ahvays yield a good vinous liquor. 
The more yellow the flesh of the apple, the better 
and finer coloured will be the cider. The above 
maxims, though few, have been of great service to 
me in life, but they must not be scrupulously adher- 
ed to, because there are exceptions. I seldom suf- 
fer my apples to be gathered till they begin of 
themselves to drop. Great care is taken in gather- 
ing, for fear they should be bruised. I have found 
this a very needful precaution.* 

*' * This is a point never, or very seldom attended to in our 
cX)untry. Cider apples are usually knocked down with poles,, 
toi the damage of the fruit and tree.'* 



OP FRUIT TREES. 161 

"* As thej are gathered,' says the Herefordshire 
planter, ' I have them sorted according to their seve- 
ral degrees of ripeness.' 

" The French writers are equally urgent on the 
importance of selecting the fruits best adapted for 
cider, and in planting those of an analogous or simi- 
lar nature in one orchard. 

"It may be said, there are great difficulties in 
procuring trees of approved sorts. Where can we 
get the Hughes's crab and Hagloe crab, and the 
other celebrated apples ? it may be asked. 

" We answer, there never will be a supply till 
there is a demand. It is believed that as many 
thousand trees of the best cider fruit can be pro- 
cured annually, as will be wanted. Trees can be 
imported from England and France, or from New 
York, and sold here for thirty cents a piece. In a 
few years we should have nurseries here, whenev- 
er our farmers shall think it best to have the most 
productive apples, and those which experience has 
shown to be calculated to make the best cider. 
But while they are contented with an orchard, one 
half of which consists of bad fruit, some trees ripen- 
ing in August, some in September, and some not 
ripe in October; while they are indifferent as to 
the quality of their cider, and esteem an acid, musty 
liquor as well as a vinous, well-flavoured one, no 
doubt good apple trees will be dear, or not to be 
had. It is true that we probably have many natu- 
ral apples equal to the most famous of Hereford- 
shire. 

" Our climate is much better suited to the apple. 
Our trees are fairer and finer than those of the best 
cider counties in Great Britain. We must have 
probably some excellent native apples. But then, 
who knows where to get them ? The reputation 
of an apple hardly goes beyond its village, and manjr 
farmers know nothing of the quality of their own 
21 



162 «3ULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

apples, except their productiveness, because they 
mix the good and bad together. * 

" " On this first point, it is apparent, that we can- 
not rival other countries in cider, until we adopt 
some system in planting, by selecting apples well 
known to be calculated to make good cider, and 
well assorted as to ripeness. 

" We now proceed to the second point; the cull- 
ing and sorting the apples previous to grinding 
them. 

" Thai; this is considered an important part of' 
the process of making good cider, will appear from 
the following extracts. 

" The Abbe Rosier, author of the most approv- 
ed work on agriculture in France, has the following 
remarks. 

"'The fruit ought always to be left on the trees 
till it is quite ripe. You may then disengage it 
from the tree easily, without hurting the fruit buds 
of the next year. They should be gathered on a 
dry day, when they, are not covered with dew, or 
any extraordinary moisture. Moisture causes them 
soon to rot and turn black. They ought to be col- 
lected in as large heaps as possible, to rfpen them 
better. The early apples ought to be separated 
from the later ones. Some will be too ri})e, or 
even rotten, while others are yet green. They 
take care, therefore, to heap toa^ether those only 
of the same kind. As to windfalls, they are col- 
lected separately, in order to make cider for pre- 
sent use. The apples ought to be gathered by 
hand. It should be done by light ladders, so as 
not to injure a single bud of the next year. The 
question is this, whether the slight additional ex- 
pense of gathering the fruit by the hand, will not 
be abundantly compensated by the preservation of 
the fruit buds of the next year? 

"'Rotten apples ought to be entirely excluded. 
They give a musty taste to the fruit. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 163 

"*You ought to collect all the apples of a similar 
Bort together, having a regard both to the quality 
and degree of ripeness. Without this attention, 
you will carry to the press apples which are green, 
others rotten, and there will result from it a very 
bad liquor. On the other hand, you will have by 
separation, cider of different qualities, but all good. 
Some is good for immediate use, that is, in three 
months; some will keep for one or two years. 

" ' The Normans separate the sweet apples from 
the sour. This was the advice of the celebrated 
Olivier de Serres, the father of French agriculture. 
He says, Let us remark that Ave ought not to mix 
the different kinds of fruit. The sweet should not 
be mixed with the sour: each should be separately 
pressed. This will affect the goodness as well as 
duration of the cider. Thus sweet apples will give 
the best quality, and sour the second. The last 
will keep the longest.' Abbe de Rosier. 

" Such are the opinions of French cultivators as 
to the sorting and selection of apples. 

" The Complete Farmer's Dictionary gives us the 
English practice. The Herefordshire planter thus 
describes his operations. 

"*As the apples are gathered, I hav^e them all 
sorted according to the several degrees of ripeness, 
making in general three sorts, which a little expe- 
rience teaches to separate ppoperly, the difference 
being apparent at first sight. As fast as they are 
gathered, they are carried under a shed to ripen. 
I suffer my apples to he a longer or shorter time in 
heaps, according to their nature ; such as are hard 
and solid lying longer than those that are soft and 
pulpy. I divide my apples into three sorts, but I 
nave six qualities of cider, each differing in taste, 
flavour and quality. 

"' As fast as the fruit is ground (I need not say I 
use the ripest first) the pulp is put into vats near 
the press before it is put into the cheese; at the 



164 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

bottom of the vat is a tap, through which a consi- 
derable quantity of vinous juice will run without 
pressing. 

" ' This is the best cider, and I barrel it bj itself. 
I then press the rest, and barrel it separately. 
Thus I have six qualities from my three assortments 
of apples.'* 

" Another English writer says, ' When your ap- 
ples are fit for gathering, it is essential to choose 
dry weather, for water is a bad ingredient in all 
vinous liquors, and gather it by hand. This is diffi- 
cult in extensive orchards and on high trees, but it 
is of great advantage, and quits cost. You can 
choose your apples, and leave those that are not 
ripe : you save your fruit from bruises, and your 
trees from damage. The gathering by hand, espe- 
cially for winter fruit, is so essential, that it cannot 
be dispensed with. Those who plead want of time, 
may be answered, that it would be more beneficial 
to them to have only half the quantity of good 
cider, than the whole of indifferent. 

" ' But for those who are too lazy to adopt this 
practice, the best method is to cover the ground 
with a sufficient thickness of straw to save the 
apples in their fall, and to put blankets upon the 
straw; then to shake the boughs gently, removing 
the apples under the tree at every shaking, that 
they may not be bruised by those which after- 
wards fall.' 

" Now, we ask, whether this sort of care is with 
us ever taken ? and whether it is not as well worth 
the pains in this country as in England? Would 
not half the quantity of excellent cider go as far in 

•' * Would it not be worth the pains of our farmers to keep the 
first runnings of the press separate, and use or sell it as cider of 
superiour quality ? There can be no doubt of the correctness of 
this Herefordshire farmer's remarks. He must have had the ad- 
vantage of experience." 



OP FRUIT TREES. 165 

a family and sell for as much as double of an infe- 
riour and miserable quality ? 

" ' Windfalls, bruised apj)les, and unripe ones, 
should not by any means be mixed with those 
which are choice ; for if they are, it will be vain to 
expect good cider. This bad fruit need not be 
thrown away. It will make a cider of inferiour 
quality. There is a difference of opinion as to 
sweating the apples in heaps, but they all agree in 
one maxim, that the fruit should be ground when it 
is in the greatest perfection for eating. Almost all 
apples require some time for ripening. And they 
should be so separated as to have each sort ground 
when it is perfectly ripe.' Complete Farmer's 
Dictionary. 

" These are the hints given by French and Bri- 
tish writers. Are thej not judicious? Are these 
practices adopted with us.'* If not, why should they 
not be? Cider in tlie cider counties of England is 
not much dearer than with us. But the price is 
regulated by the quality. Cider of good repute 
will sell for three or four times as much as that 
which is indifferent. It would soon be the case in 
our country, if any of our spirited and intelligent 
farmers would adopt these rules, or any others 
calculated to make their cider equal to that of 
Normandy or Great Britain, or of Newark, in New 
Jersey. Let us not longer have the reproach so 
often bestowed on us, that while our soil and cli- 
mate are peculiarly adapted to the apple tree, 
our cider is such, that foreigners, and even our own 
citizens, who have been accustomed to better 
liquors, cannot endure it. Hence the great con- 
sumption of brandy and ardent spirits in our coun- 
try towns. Furnish them a pleasant and whole- 
some beverage, and you will do more to abolish 
this practice than you can do by any other means. 
We have thus seen that a second method to pro- 



166 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

cure good cider in other countries is to sort and se- 
lect the fruit destined to produce it. 

" The third question relates to the mode of mak- 
ing the cider, and the last to the treatment of it, 
after it is made, till it is fit for the table. These 
two points, being intimately connected, and very 
much blended by the writers on this subject, we 
shall consider together. 

" The Complete Farmer's Dictionary contains 
the following directions on this part of the pro- 
cess. 

"* The first runnings from the vat may be imme- 
diately put into barrels, taking care to strain them 
first. As to the juice, after it is pressed, it ought 
to remain thirty hours in the tub or vat into which 
it runs, till the feces or dregs have fallen to the 
bottom, after which it may be drawn off by a cock 
and put into the barrels. After the cider has 
done fermenting, some persons throw two or three 
handfuls of wheat bran into each barrel, which 
serves to make the head or cream thicker, and 
makes the cider keep better. New casks are, if 
possible, to be avoided, as they give the cider a 
disagreeable taste ; if it cannot be avoided, they 
should be scalded with water in which a conside- 
rable quantity of apple pulp has been boiled. If a 
vessel is not sweet, it may be made so by putting 
some unslacked lime into it, and letting it stand till 
the fermentation is over. A dozen sweet apples 
sliced into a cask of cider, have been found to be 
advantageous.' 

" One writer says, the best cider he ever had, 
was when he put into each hogshead three quarts 
of good wheat first boiled and hulled. The 
same writer says, he must give one piece of advice 
to cider makers, that they diligently watch the al- 
terations in it during changes of weather. There 
is scarcely any disease in this liquor but what may 
be cured by a timely application. If it is only a 



OP FRUIT TREES. 167 

little inclined to tartness, wheat, managed as above, 
(that is, boiled and hulled,) will cure it. The quan- 
tity, when cider is quite tart, is hall" a peck to a 
hogshead, or about a quart to one of our barrels. 
Such are the directions of one cider maker whose 
opinions are quoted in the abovementioned dic- 
tionary. 

" Another writer says, when the apples are 
ground they are not put immediately into the press, 
but into wide tubs or vats, where the pumice 
should be turned five or six times a day, to pre- 
vent fermentation. This is done in order to give 
the cider a fine colour. This is done in two days. 
It is usual, says this cider maker, to dispose of all 
th^ liquor in the same way and without distinction. 
This is wrong, if there is any analogy, as there 
must be, between cider and wine. Experience has 
shown, that in making wines there is a great diife- 
rence between the first runnings from the press, 
and those which are obtained by hard pressing; 
and this difference is always in favour of the for- 
mer. If the same be true of cider, we lose by our 
common method the richest and choicest kinds. 

" When the pressing of the apples is finished, 
the most careful makers of cider strain it throu.o:h 
a hair sieve, (or through sand,) to separate it 
from the coarsest dregs. It must be then left to 
itself till it has gone through the necessary fer- 
mentation ; for this purpose some put it into 
hogsheads, and others into great tubs or vats, 
wide at top, and narrower at bottom, containing 
from five to twenty hogsheads, or from twenty 
to eighty barrels. In these vessels the heaviest 
lees subside, and the lighter lees form a crust, 
which, when it begins to crack and sink, gives 
notice of the time to draw off and barrel the 
cider. 

" The usual time for this first fermentation is 
from thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Some af- 



168 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

firm, they can put the liquor immediately into the 
barrels, without any other caution than leaving 
space to work off the lees ; but this is hazardous, 
and successful only in favourable seasons. A mo- 
derate degree of warmth is absolutely necessary to 
produce the proper fermentation of cider. If, 
therefore, your cellar or apartment be too cold, it 
must be moderately warmed. As soon as the fer- 
mentation is over, (and great care must be taken 
to prevent its being too great, for in this last case 
it will become acid,) it must be drawn oif, and then 
it may be put where it is to be preserved. New 
casks are bad. Frequent scaldings with hot wa- 
ter, in which a little salt has been dissolved, or 
with hot water, in which pumice has been boiled, 
and afterwards washing the cask with cider, will 
check this evil. 

" There are some who advise the fumigating 
casks with brimstone, and affirm that the acidity 
of the cask is corrected, the musty taste destroyed, 
and that the cider will keep the better for it. It 
must, in that case, be put in as soon as the fumi- 
gation is finished. The best shaped vessels for 
keeping cider, are those in which the cask or ves- 
sel is wider at top than at bottom. 

" A question of great importance is now to be 
considered. Some maintain that frequent racking 
spoils the cider ; and others assert that it can never 
be good without it. Some rack once and twice, and 
others whenever the liquor frets or ferments. We 
shall therefore state the various methods, and give 
a general opinion on the subject. 

" One mode is to leave the cider in the open vats 
at the press some days longer than was above ad- 
vised (which was two) and till it is in some degree 
finer ; then to put it into casks, where it is to re- 
main without any further racking. Those who de- 
fend this practice, say their cider is stronger and 
better for it. 



OP FRUIT TREES. 169 

<' A second and more common mode is, after bar- 
relling it and letting it stand aboirt a fortnight, to 
draw it off into fresh casks. To this second rack- 
ing others add a third in March. Others, especial- 
ly the Devonshire people, (whose habits and usages 
much resemble ours,) look upon a thorough fermen- 
tation as the great secret to have their cider light, 
fine and free from dregs, and accordingly they do 
more. At first barrelling they leave a space to re- 
ceive a fresh pailful from the press. This produ- 
ces a new fermentation, and is often kept up by 
fresh cider for a fortnight. A month after this they 
rack their cider into new casks, and in two months 
more they rack it again, and if it still frets, they 
often repeat it a third and fourth time. 

" Such are the various practices in England, and 
the authors of this dictionary on the whole advise 
to the racking of cider. Weak cider cannot bear 
more than one or two rackings. Strong cider will 
stand several, and grow mellower for them. Above 
all, great pains must be taken to prevent fermenta- 
tion after the liquor has become fine ; this can only 
be done by racking. Generally the cider which is 
longest in refining is the strongest and most lasting. 

" Another more sensible writer in the same work 
observes, ' that the ground apples or pumice ought 
to remain at least twelve hours before it is pressed 
at all. With respect to the temperature of the 
air in which cider should be kept while fermenting, 
or to make it ferment, he remarks that farmers 
have no thermometers. Some more obvious rules 
must be applied. They should not be exposed to 
frost. In the beginning, however, they cannot be 
kept too cool, short of frost. Hence the time when 
fermentation will commence is uncertain. Some- 
times not till after a week, or even a month, in cold 
weather. Agitation in a carriage will, however, 
speedily bring on fermentation. 
22 



170 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

"'Tlie continuance oi" the vinous fermentation is 
as uncertain as its beginning. Liquor which has 
been agitated bjj transportation will pass through 
it perhaps the same clay. But other liquors, less 
agitated, seldom go through it under two or three 
days, and sometimes will continue in fermentation 
five or six days. With regard to ascertaining the 
degree of fermentation which cider has undergone, 
whether not great enough, or exactly right, or too 
great, I have not been able,' says this writer, ' to 
collect any fixed notions on the subject. It is a 
subject to which most cider makers pay little or 
no attention. It is true, the manufacturers of sweet 
cider pay some attention to fermentation. Their 
whole art consists not in regulating, but in checking 
the fermentation as far as possible. 

"'Fermentation operates differently on different 
ciders. Thus that which is made of ripe fruit 
throws up a gross spume or froth, like malt liquors, 
forming a brown crust. The riper the fruit, the 
more of this brown froth or scum is thrown up. 

" ' Having remained some days on the lees, it is 
drawn off into fresh casks. Some men wait, before 
they rack their cider, till the brown crust begins to 
crack. Others prefer to rack before the fermenta- 
tion is entirely over. The makers of perry rack it 
off when it has done hissing. The manufacturers 
of sweet liquors will not permit them even to hiss. 
They keep up the process of racking, which certain- 
ly checks the fermentation. 

" ' The fresh casks into which cider has been rack 
ed, are never quite filled. This is general practice. 
They are left short about a pailful, so that you 
can just touch the liquor with the end of your fin- 
ger. 

" ' The number of rackings depends on the state of 
the liquor. If the fresh fermentation, which most- 
ly commences after the racking, be violent, it is un- 
derstood generally that the liquor should be racked 



OP FRUIT TREES. 171 

again. Hence, in the practice of some men it is 
racked five or six times. 

"*0n the other hand, if the fermentation is mode- 
rate, it is commonly suffered to remain after the 
first racking. In the common practice of farmers, 
(English farmers,) it is racked but once. (Itj our 
practice, speaking of farmers generally, it is not rack- 
ed at all, but suffered to remain in its first lees.) 
Those who prepare cider for sale, always think it 
prudent to repeat the rackings till the liquor is 
quiet. If this cannot be readily brought about, 
they have recourse to stumming. Stumming is 
burning matches covered with sulphur within the 
cask. The match is let down into the cask light- 
ed, and the cask is thus filled with the fumes of 
sulphur. The cask is suffered to remain three hours, 
bei'ore the liquor is put into it. JVinety-nine casks 
in a hundred in the country, (Great Britain,) go 
through this process. 

"'But there are some persons who prefer ferment- 
ing their cider in open vats or tubs. Some do it in 
deep tubs, but the most approved mode is in shal- 
low vats, five feet in diameter, and not more than 
two deep, each containing about eight barrels. In 
these the liquor remains till it has done rising; when 
it is racked off without skimming, (being drawn off 
from the bottom.) In this case, it seldom is rack- 
ed a second time. 

" ' There are three species of fermentation. 

" ' The vinous, which gives the liquor the body and 
qualities of wine. 

" ' The acetous, which produces vinegar. 

" ' The putrid, which utterly destroys its use. 

(" ' The cider in our country rarely stops at the 
first stage. It is nine times in ten advanced far to 
the vinegar state.) The juices of fruits, with mo- 
derate heat and fermentation, will readily pass into 
the vinous state. They will, if left open and not 
attended to, soon after pass into the acetous or acid 



172 ClTLTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

state ; and if neglected, the putrid state will en- 
sue. 

\'' ' The object then is, lo bring on the vinous state, 
and to preserve the liquor in that condition. 

" ' The first effect of vinous fermentation is to in- 
crease the strength of the liquor, furnishing it with 
an intoxicating quality, which it did not before pos- 
sess, and changing its medical properties. Another 
effect is, to lessen or destroy the sweetness of the 
liquor; some prefer rough, and some sweet liquors. 

"*To produce rough liquors, choose austere and 
sour fruits. To produce sweet ones, choose sweet 
and luscious fruits, and check the fermentation bj 
racking. The effect of racking is, to prevent the 
.progress of fermentation. Filtering a liquor, drop 
by drop, is found to destroy fermentation. 

"* Much is added by this author, on the subject of 
amending cider which is bad or weak, but as this 
more properly belongs to the retailer of cider than 
to the farmer, we shall at present omit it.' (Mar- 
shall's Rural Economy abridged.) 

" Such are the general practices prevalent in the 
cider counties of Great Britain. The effect, every 
man who has been in that country knows, is the 
production of a much finer, more vinous and fine 
flavoured liquor than we usually have, not better 
than we can, and than many persons do produce. 
That this practice, to us apparently elaborate and 
expensive, is adopted in other countries, where the 
farmer has less inducement from prices than in Great 
Britain or America, will appear from the following 
extracts from the ' Abbe Hosier's complete course 
of agriculture in France.' 

"'Every one has his own mode of making cider,' 
says this author, ' and every one boasts of it as the 
best. But they are all reduced to the following 
conditions : that is, they all agree in these opinions : 

"Vj. To grind the apples most thoroughly. 



OF FRUIT TREES 173 

*' 2. To leave the pumice at least six hours before 
it is pressed, in order to colour the juice. 

*' (3. Is a description of their mode of making the 
cheese, which is the same nearly with that of New 
England and Great Britain.) 

"'4. The barrels, nearly j'lill, are placed in a situa- 
tion where the fermentation will be moderate, (that 
is, in a cool place.) The barrels should be filled 
from time to time as the froth is thrown out. But 
when the fermentation is done, you must bung up 
the barrels, and if they are to be moved, they must 
be racked of into other casks, in order that the lees 
may not mix with the other cider. 

"'But,' says this same French author, 'if you have 
any vats near the press, into which you can pour 
the liquor, vats which will contain from twelve to 
twenty barrels, you will place all the cider in them. 
It remains in these open vats three or four days 
without fermenting, after which it ferments strong- 
ly. All the lees mount, as they do in wine, to the 
top; and when they have all ascended, and the 
crust is formed, you draw off the liquor by a tap 
below.' 

"This author then proceeds to detail a method 
of racking very much like that of Great Britain, of 
which we have given so detailed an account. 

" We could fill one of our numbers with extracts 
from foreign writers on this subject. It should not 
be thought derogatory to us to borrow from them 
in the useful arts. They have preceded us many 
centuries, and it will not do to reject the lessons of 
experience. No people avail themselves more 
readily, or carry the improvements of other nations 
further than we do. The manufacture of cider 
(for it is a manufacture) it still with us in its infan- 
try. We have not only much, but every thing to 
learn on the subject. I speak of the people at 
large : of our farming practice generally. 



^174 OlILTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

"Our cider is the worst article we produce. Our 
haj, potatoes, grain, and fruit, do not depend on 
ourselves. They are the gifts of God, the produc- 
tions of his goodness, which we call nature. Our 
butter, cheese, and cider are partially the result of 
our own industry. The two former are often in- 
jdiiTerent enough, yet, with some important excep- 
tions, they are in a state of improvement. Our ci- 
der is not improving; we have of late learned to 
treat it better in great towns, but the farmers, whose 
interests we espouse, drink a miserable liquor instead 
of an excellent one, which they might have ; they 
.obtain a reduced price for the article, in consequence 
of the bad state in which it is brought to market. 

" It would appear from the above extracts from 
the works of the most celebrated writers in the 
best farming countries of Europe, that more ought 
to be done at the press, and less at the cider cellars 
oii the cities. We get, to be sure, a clear, but a 
medicated and factitous liquor, easily discernible by 
men acquainted with the subject. The improve- 
ment, if we have any, must originate at the cider 
press, and the Jarmer must reap the profit, not the 
retailer, who sells it at thirty dollars per barrel. 

" The difficulty now is, that families are compell- 
ed to go through this process of racking their cider 
frequently, and refining it, after all which they are 
not sure of having it good, and of course prefer to 
pay the retailers three dollars a dozen for bottled 
cider. 

" The price of the cider paid to the farmer will 
always be regulated by the ri?k of its being good, 
and the trouble required to make it so. If the farm- 
ers could reduce the liquor into a vinous state, and 
it is much more easily done before the agitation of 
a removal, before it is transported to market, they 
would obtain five and even ten dollars a barrel in- 
stead of three. I have no hesitation to say, that 
^ider not only reduced to the vinous state, but re- 



OP FRUIT TREES. J75' 

fined, would more rcadllj bring from five to ten 
dollars a barrel than it now does three. 

" Something too must be allowed for the addition 
to their own comfort and enjoyment. With three 
days labour of one man, forty barrels of cider may 
be sufficiently attended to, racked one or more times, 
the casks rinsed, and stummed with sulphur; then 
the farmer would never have to resort to foreign 
liquor to regale his friends. A good bottle of cider 
is often equal to the best Champagne, the most po- 
pular wine of France. 

" It may be thought that the rules above extract- 
ed are too numerous, and too complicated. We 
shall show that they are essentially reducible to a 
few, and yet they are mostly such as we are not in 
the practice of adopting. If this publication shall 
have the effect of inducing one publick spirited man 
in each town, to adopt all or any of these recom- 
mendations, our object will have been answered. 

" The rules may be reduced to the following, the 
respective importance of which we shall notice as 
we proceed. 

" First. ' Apple orchards ought to be planted with 
the same kinds of fruit, or with fruits which ripen 
as nearly togenier as possible.' 

'*This, though valuable, is not among the most 
important rules. It is, however, very important 
that there should be no early summer or autumn 
apples in the cider orchard. 

''Two or three trees near the house for early 
fruit may not be amiss, but for cider they are gene- 
rally lost and wasted. 

" Second rule. The apples, whenever gathered, 
should be put for some time in piles, and before they 
are pressed, should be sorted, and not only the rot- 
ten ones separated, but those only ground together 
which are of a uniform and equal degree of ripe- 
ness. The first part of this rule is followed witK 
us; the second is but too much neglected. 



176 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

" Third rule. The pumice should be suffered to 
stand from six to twentj^-four hours, according as 
you may wish to give a higher or paler colour to 
vour cider. But in our climate, if the weather is 
hot, it should be turned frequently, to prevent fer- 
mentation. 

" Fourth rule. The first runnings of the press 
should be kept separate, being a superiour quality 
of cider. 

"This, it is believed, is seldom attended to. Bar- 
rels warranted of this sort ought to fetch, and after 
a short time, would fetch a greater price. 

"Fifth rule. Where the farmer is rich and fore- 
handed, it is advisable to have a vat made near the 
press, which will contain from eight to twenty bar- 
rels. This may be made either square or round. 
Into this vat the cider, as it is made, should be turn- 
ed, and suffered to work off in the open air. This 
will save much future trouble. There should be a 
eock, or tap and faucet, near the bottom, to draw off 
the cider when the scum or crust is perfectly form- 
ed. 

"But lastly. If farmers will not go to this ex- 
pense, they should leave their barrels not fuil by a 
gallon or two, and as they work off, they should fill 
them up, and after they have done working, rack 
them into other casks. This should always be 
done before they are sent to market, or put into 
the place where they are to remain. Removing 
them before they are worked produces an agitation 
often fatal to the cider. 

"Such is the invariable practice as to wine. 
There is no difference between the two liquors, ex- 
cept the fruit from which they are made. They 
undergo the same process of fermentation. Wine, 
if neglected as we do our cider, would be an acid 
and vile liquor. 

" If these ideas shall contribute to give informa- 
tion to those who have not books at command, I 
shall be happy." 



OP FRUIT TREES. 177 



MEDIC15IAL PROPERTIES OF CIDER. 

This excellent liquor contains a small proportioQ 
of spirit, but so diluted and blunted, by being com- 
bined with a large quantity of saccharine matter 
and water, as to be perfectly wholesome. When 
of a proper age and well refined, pure cider may 
be considered as a pleasant and salutary beverage, 
and calculated to obviate a putrid tendency in the 
humours. 

Strong, astringent cider, well impregnated with 
fixed air in bottles, has been found of great utility 
in various diseases. In low fevers of the putrid 
kind, it is not merely a good substitute, but is equal- 
ly ciiicacious with port, or other foreign wines. 

" Excellent brandy is made from apples in the 
United States, notwithstanding what Chaptel has 
said on the subject. If carefully distilled from 
sound apples, and kept a few years in a warm situa- 
tion, it is very agreeable, when diluted with water. 
One wineglass full, added to a half gallon bowl of 
punch, highly improves the flavour of that drinL" 

POMONA WINE. 

** It is said that several of the agricultural socle- 
ties have adopted regulations for the encourage- 
ment of American beverage, at their annual jubi- 
lees. Currant wine is to be sujbstituted for cJaret ; 
and the great staple of New England, cider, is 
to be substituted for Madeira. The following Is a 
receipt to make it : 

-' Take cider, made of sound apples, sweet from 
the press, and leach it through a barrel filled with 
clean dry sand. After it has passed through, care- 
fully drain it off into a brass or copper kettle, in 
which it must be boiled one hour over a sIott 
23 



178 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

fire, and skimmed clean. After It has been taken 
off and cooled, strain it through a fine cloth, and 
put it into a cask tliat is perfectly clean. Set it in a 
cool part of the cellar, and let it remain five or six 
weeks, when one quart of best French brandy, and 
one pound of raisins must be added to eight gal- 
lons. 

" It ought to be made a year, at least, before it 
is used. It is needless to state that the quality of 
the liquor will be improved by age." 

" This American process has, of late years, been 
imitated in the cider counties, and particularly 
in the west of England, where several hundred 
hogsheads of cider wine are annually prepared; and 
being supposed to contain no particles of copper, 
from the vessels in which it is boiled, the country 
people consider it as perfectly wholesome, and ac- 
cordingly drink it without apprehension. In order 
to ascertain the truth, various experiments were 
instituted by the late Dr. Fothergill ; from the re- 
sult of which he proved that cider wine does con- 
tain a minute portion of copper, which, though not 
very considerable, is sufficient to caution the pub- 
lick against a liquor that comes in so very ques- 
tionable a shape. Independently, however, of the 
danger arising from any metalhck impregnation, we 
doubt whether the process of preparing boiled 
wines be useful, or reconcileable to economy. The 
evaporation of the apple juice by long boiling, not 
only occasions an unnecessary consumption of fuel, 
but also volatilizes the most essential particles, 
Avithout which the liquor cannot undergo a com- 
plete fermentation, so that there can be no perfect 
wine. Hence this liquor is, like all other boiled 
wines, crude, heavy and flat ; it generally causes 
indigestion, flatulency and diarrhosa. Those ama- 
teurs, however, who are determined to prepare it, 
ought at least to banish all brass and copper ves> 



OF FRUIT TREES. 179 

sels from tliis as well as from every other culinary 
process." (Mease.) 

The most valuable liquor to be obtained from 
apples, unquestionably, is the cider wine made acr 
cording to the following process. 

APPROVED METHOD OF MAKING WINE FROM CIDER. 

To one barrel of cider, when just from the press, 
add half a pound of su2;ar to each gallon, and two 
gallons of brandy, West India spirit, or cider bran- 
dy. The cask must be lightly stopped, and filled 
up every day, while fermenting, for four or five 
days, and then stopped tight and put into a cool 
cellar. In three or four months rack it off, and add 
two gallons more of brandy to each barrel. Take 
one quarter of a pound of burnt alum, six whites 
of eggs, and one pint of clean sand, mixed together, 
and put them into the barrel when racked, to cla- 
rity. When racking, the liquor must be kept from 
foaming, by letting it run down on a thin board ; 
and when the cask is about half full, while rack- 
ing, a match of sulphur must be burned in it, and 
then the cask stopped close and shook, so that the 
smoke may incorporate with the liquor. In one 
year this will be equal to sherry wine, and in two, 
equal to the best Madeira. Having made one cask 
of this kind a few years since, it so far exceeded 
my expectations, that I can with confidence and 
pleasure recommend it to general notice, as a liquor 
possessing the qualities of a sprightly, cordial wine, 
the cheap produce of our own farms, and free froni 
any deleterious metallick impregnation. 



180 (CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



OF PEARS. 

It is no loriirer questionable that the pear tree is 
well adapted to the climate and soil of New Eng- 
land. Although much neglected by our farmers 
generally, numerous varieties are cultivated in dif- 
ferent parts of Massachusetts, in great perfection. 
All the varieties of the pear are hardy and long- 
lived, and will flourish in a clay or loamy soil, but 
wet situations are unfavoura'ble. Most of the 
directions already detailed, relative to the cultiva- 
tion of the apple tree, may be applied to that of 
the pear tree. The production of particular va- 
rieties from the seed is equally capricious, and the 
annihilation of certain kinds from long duration, is 
supposed to be no less remarkable than in the 
apple. The propagation of particular species is 
eifected by grafting or budding, and by this method 
any desired variety may be obtained and perpetuat- 
•ed. Considerable attention is necessary in the 
choice of stocks for grafting:. Suckers from other 
"trees should never be employed, as they will have 
a constant tendency to generate suckers, to the in- 
jury of the tree. It should be observed, to graft 
or bud summer pears only upon summer pear 
stocks ; autumn pears upon stocks of the same 
kind; but never graft a winter pear upon a sum- 
mer pear stock, for thp sap of the summer pear 
will decline or diminish, before the winter fruit has 
sufficient time to mature and ripen. Every plan- 
ter should keep a nursery of free stocks, by plant- 
ing the seeds of the dirferent varieties, and these 
should be taken from fair and choice fruit, and in 
their ripe state. The season for grafting or bud- 
ding, and the manner of performing the operation, 
are the same as already described for the apple. 
The pear tree will succeed very well, when graft- 



OP FRUIT TREES. 18 1 

ed on a quince ; in which case, it is preferable to 
graft under ground in the root, as the tree will be 
more strong and vigorous; whereas, if grafted 
above the surface, the produce will be a dwarf 
tree. In transplanting pear trees, we are advised, 
when the soil is dry and sandy, to perform the 
business in autumn, and they will gain root fibres 
enough to support them, before winter, and will 
shoot in the spring better than those which are 
planted in April. But in moist places, it is best to 
dig the holes in autumn, and plant in April, as the 
cold of winter might greatly injure them. The 
soil for pear trees ought to be two or three feet 
deep, and they should be planted shallow, that the 
roots may spread near the surface, and enjoy the 
benefit of the sun and air; and by some it is ac- 
counted useful to expose the same side to the sun 
as when in the nursery. Pear trees require but 
little pruning, comparatively with the apple, and 
if carried to excess, it proves very injurious. All 
dead branches, however, and even thrifty ones, 
\Vhich interfere and chafe each other, and every 
sucker proceeding from the trunk or roots, should 
be carefully removed. Every large wound should be 
covered with the composition or cement, as a securi- 
ty against the effects of the sun and weather. If 
affected with diseases, or infested w^ith insects, the 
appropriate remedies, recommended for apple trees, 
must be applied. In the Agricultural Repository, 
•vol. iv. is a communication from Mr. Hammon, of 
Talbot county, Maryland, to the following purport. 
"Pear trees, and other fruit trees, are frequently af- 
fected, and sometimes suddenly decay, without disco- 
vering the causes of their decline. A gentleman of 
this neighbourhood, some years ago, observin'J* the 
situation of his trees, and having unsuccessfully used 
many applications, at length directed tlieir trunks 
or bodies to be washed with soft soap ; and it is 
not easy to imagine the early change which appear- 



182 I CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ed in the bark and foliage: the bark became 
smooth and glossy, and seemed sound and beauti- 
ful ; and he thought the tree was greatly improved 
in every respect. I have tried the same experi- 
ment, and with equal advantage to apple trees; 
and am persuaded they have been greatly bene- 
fited by tnis process. It is used in the spring, and 
may be repeated in the following years, as fre- 
quently as the trees appear to require it» Mr. 
Peters declares, that he used soa/p suds without 
beneficial effects : but it is probable that the soft 
soap in substance is more powerful, and that hav- 
ing more strength and virtue than the suds, as com- 
monly made, it may more effectually destroy the 
worms, bugs, and other insects, which so materially 
injure the trees; and it is believed to be in conse- 
quence of their destruction, that the bark and 
branches are enabled to derive so much improve- 
ment from the application of this substance." 

Mr. Forsytli's treatise contains his method of 
managing diseased pear trees, and such as were 
unfruitful from decay, and has clearly demonstrat- 
ed, that the quantity of fruit was thereby remarka- 
bly increased, and the quality greatly iuiproved. 
When old trees are affected with canker, or other- 
wise diseased, by which they are rendered unpro- 
ductive, his practice is, to head them down in May 
or June, as near as possible to where they were 
engrafted. By this method the young shoots soon 
sprout forth, and grow so rapidly, that in two or 
three years they bear fruit most abundantly. Mr. 
F. illustrates his practical principles by two or 
three striking examples, and by plates representing 
the trees and fruit. One of the first four which 
he headed down, was a Saint Germain, which pro- 
duced nineteen fine, large, well-flavoured pears the 
next year, and in the third, bore more fruit than it 
did in its former state, when it was four times the 
size. Another bore four hundred pears the second 



OP FRUIT TREES. 183 

year; and he finally found, that the trees headed 
down bore upwards of five times the quantity of 
fjuit that the others did ; and it keeps increasing, 
in proportion to the progress of the trees. " On 
the 20th of June," says Mr. F., " I headed several 
standards that were almost destroyed by the cart- 
ker ; some of them were so loaded with fruit the 
following year, that I was obliged to prop the 
branches, to prevent their' being broken down by 
the weight of it. In the fourth year afterwards, 
one of them bore two thousand eight hundred and 
forty pears, while another tree, not headed down, 
growing by its side, being twenty years old, bore 
five bundled pears, which was a good crop for its 
size: so that there Avere on the old tree, which had 
been headed down not quite four years, two thou- 
sand three hundred and ibrty more than on the tree 
of twenty years growth." 

The following is Mr. Forsyth's method of train- 
ing the trees, that are cut near the place where 
they were grafted Every year, in- the month of 
March, (April or May for our climate,) he shor- 
tens the leading shoot to a foot or eighteen inches, 
according to its st^-ength. This shoot will, if the 
tree be strong, grow from five to seven ieet long 
in one season ; and, if left to nature, would run up 
without throwing out side shoots. The reason for 
thus shortening the leading shoot is, to make ll 
throw out side shoots ; and if it be done close to a 
bud, it will frequently cover the cut in one season. 
When the shoots are very strong, he cuts the 
leading shoot twice in one season : by this me- 
thod he gets two sets of side shoots in one year, 
which enables iiira the sooner to fill the tree. The 
first cutting is performed any tmie during the 
spring, and the second about the middle of June. 
When you prune the trees, and cut the fore-right 
shoots in April, always cut close to an eve or bud, 
observing where vou see the jjreatest iiumLcr of 



184 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

leaves at the lower bud, and cut at them ; for, at 
the foot-stalk of every one of these, will bo pro- 
duced a flower bud. You will have in sowie sorts 
of pears, in a favourable season, from five to nine 
pears in a cluster. TVis cutting should not be 
later than April, on account of the leading shoot 
beginning to grow; the next topping, when the 
leading shoot grows quick enough to admit of it, 
should be about the latter end of June ; and the 
length of the shoots should be according to their 
strength, having from three eyes or buds to six on 
a side. Mr. Forsyth has been successful in reno- 
vating old trees when in such an advanced state of 
decay, that very little, except the bark, remained. 
He always applies the composition to the wounds, 
and when, on examination, the root is found to be 
decayed and rotten, he cuts away all the dead part, 
to the sound wood, and covers the wound. If the 
above directions be followed, he says, you will get 
more pears in three or four years, than you can in 
twenty-five years by planting young trees, and 
pruning and managing them in tlie common way. 
If it be desired to change the kind of fruit, it Avill 
be easy to graft or bud upon the young shoots. 

The method recommended by Mr. Knight for re- 
claiming old unproductive pear trees is, to cut away 
all the central branches, retaining those only that 
are nearly horizontal, and all the spurs of these 
must be taken otf closely with the saw and chisel. 
Into the extremities of the branches thus retained 
grafts are to be inserted at proper distances, so as 
to form ^ new crown. It was on an old Saint Ger- 
main pear tiee, that had been trained to the wall 
in a fan form, that he adopted this mode. As soon 
in the succeeding summer, as the young shoots had 
attained sufficient length, they were trained almost 
perjiendicularly downwards between the larger branch- 
es and the ivall, to which they were nailed. In the 
second year, and subsequently, the tree yielded 



OF FRUIT TREES. 185 

abundant crops, the fruit being equally dispersed 
over every part. Grafts of no fewer than eight 
different kinds of pears had been inserted, and all 
afforded fruit, and nearly in equal plenty. The 
same mode is applicable to common standard trees. 
By this mode, Mr. K. remarks, the bearing bran- 
ches, being small and short, may be changed every 
three or four years, till the tree be a century old, 
without the loss of a single crop, and the central 
part, which is almost necessarily unproductive in 
the fan mode of training, and is apt to become so 
in the horizontal, is rendered in this way the most 
fruitful. Where it is not desired to change the 
kind of fruit, nothing more of course is necessary 
than to take off entirely the spurs and supernume- 
rary large branches, leaving all blossom buds which 
occur, near the extremities of the remaining bran- 
ches. 

A pear tree brought from Holland, and planted 
in the year 1647, is now in full bloom, standing in 
the third avenue at the intersection of Thirteenth 
street, (New York.) This is probably the oldest 
fruit tree in America. About seventy years ago 
the branches of the tree decayed and fell off; and 
at that time it was supposed the tree was dying; 
but, without any artificial means resorted to, new 
shoots germinated and gradually supplied the roots 
of their predecessors. The tree now is in full health 
and vigour, and appears to be not more than thirty 
years old; the fruit ripens the latter part of Au- 
gust, has a rich succulent flavour, and has been 
known by the name of the spice pear. (New York 
Evening Post, iMay 4, 1820.) 

From the pear is prepared a pleasant liquor, 
known under the name of perry, which is made in 
the same manner as cider from apples. In Eng- 
land, particular kinds of pears are cultivated for this 
purpose, and the liquor is held in high estimation. 
24 



186 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

The subjoined list contains a selection, from va- 
rious sources, of such as arc much esteemed as ta- 
ble fruit, or will meet a ready sale at market. 

1. Broclcholst bergamot. — A delicious pear, ripe 
early in October. 

2. Brown beurre — Is a large and long fruit, of 
brownish red colour next the sun, melting, and full 
of sharp rich juice, slightly perfumed. Indeed, it 
is one of the best autumn pears we have. Ripens 
in October. 

3. Catharine pear. — Of this there are several va- 
rieties, the earliest of which ripens in July, and 
another kind in August. They are considered well 
deserving of cultivation, as an excellent summer 
fruit for the dessert and for baking. The tree 
grows large, and is very fruitful. 

4. ChaumontcUc, or tvinter beurre. — " It is a large, 
rich flavoured, melting pear ; tlie skin a little 
rough ; often of a pale green colour, but becoming 
purplish next the sun, sometimes with a good deal 
of red. The fruit is left on the tree till the close 
approach of winter. It is fit for eating in the end 
of November, and continues till January." 

5. Colmart, or manna pear — " Is large and ex- 
cellent ; the flesh very tender and melting, and the 
juice greatly sugared. Both in shape and quality, 
it considerably resembles the autumn, or English 
bergamot. It keeps through the winter, till the end 
of February." 

6. Crassanc, or bergamot crassane — Is a pear of a 
large size and round shape, with a long stalk: the 
skin is roughish ; of a greenish yellow, when ripe, 
with a russcty coating: the flesh is very tender and 
melting, and full of a rich sugary juice. It is fit for 
use from the middle to the end of November, and 
is one of the very best pears of the season. 

7. Easter beriramot, or " winter bergamot — Is a 
large roundish fruit, of a grayish green colour, with 
a little red : the flesh between breaking and melt- 



OF FRUIT TREES. 187 

ing. The fruit is fit for the table in February, and 
keeps till April." 

8. Gai'den pear. — This ripens in November. It 
is large and rather long; the skin yellow, and the 
flesh yellow, rich, and juicy. It is cultivated in 
Massachusetts, and is highly esteemed. 

9. German muscadcl pear., or muscat aUemand. — 
" A noble, large, pyramidal fruit, with a small blos- 
som on a shallow excavation, and rather a long 
stalk. When ripening on the floor, it acquires a 
red and yellow tint. Its flesh is melting and deli- 
cate, full of a spicy, delicious juice, similar to that of 
muscadel grapes. Eatable from March till May. 
The tree forms a fine crown, and is exceedingly 
productive." 

10. Green summer sugar pear, or sucre vert — Has 
a very smooth green skin; flesh melting, and the 
juice sugary, with an agreeable flavour: the tree is 
a free bearer. Its period of ripening is in August^ 
and it can be preserved only a i'ew weeks. The 
tree bears fruit every year, and its blossoms resist 
the most unfavourable weather. 

11. Grey butter pear — ) Are well known to 

12. White butter pear — ^ amateurs, and deserve 
to stand in every orchard, being excellent autumnal 
fruits. The white butter pear is also very excel- 
lent for culinary purposes, even before it attains to 
maturity by lying on the floor. In a good soil, it 
often forms a very large tree; but the gray butter 
pear is of a lower growth, though with more ex- 
panded branches. 

13. Jargonelle. — This is a weli-knoAvn, fine sum- 
mer pear, ripening in August. The flesh is break- 
ing, sweet, and has a slightly musky flavour. It is 
best when picked before fully ripe, and matured in 
the house. The tree is a general bearer. 

14. Little muscat — Is of a longish shape, of a yel- 
low colour, except next the sun, where it is red. 
Ripe in August. 



188 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

15. Mons Jean — Is a valuable pear. It is ripe 
about the first of November, and will last till the 
middle of December. 

16. Orange pear. — This has been long cultivated 
in Massachusetts, and is still a favourite fruit among 
those who are unacquainted with the superiour 
kinds more recently introduced. The fruit is round- 
ish ; the skin of a greenish colour, becoming yel- 
low when ripe ; the flesh is melting, and the juice 
sugary; the flavour pleasantly perfumed. It ripens 
in August, and, like all summer pears, is of short 
duration. 

17. Pound pear — " Is an extraordinary large, 
thick, oblong fruit, of a greenish gray colour : it is 
often reared in the vicinity of buildings, to shelter 
its ponderous fruit from boisterous winds, before it 
has attained to maturity. Though its pulp be 
somewhat tough, it is a very useful pear in domes- 
tick economy, especially for drying. The tree 
rises to a considerable height, and spreads its bran- 
ches ; is very productive, and its blossoms are not 
liable to be injured in the spring." The fruit should 
be suffered to remain on the tree till frost, and 
then preserved in the common manner, for baking 
and other culinary uses. There is a variety gene- 
rally called the small pound pear, which acquires 
only half the size of the former, but possesses all 
its valuable properties. 

18. JVon-pareil bergamot — " Is a considerably 
large pear, with a green peel, containing a mel- 
low pulp of an incomparable aromatick taste. It 
becomes eatable in October and November. The 
tree is one of the largest among the bergamots." 

19. Prince'' s pear — " Is a small roundish fruit, 
of a yellow colour, but red next the sun ; flesh in- 
termediate between breaking and melting : juice 
high flavoured. The tree is generally a great 
bearer, and the fruit will keep for a fortnight." 



OP FRUIT TREES. 189 

20. Radish pear. — " A very superiour summer 
fruit, the juice of which is so rich, refreshing and 
agreeably acidulated, that it excels in its kind the 
gray butter pear. But as it easily becomes mealy, 
though of a muscadel flavour, when left to ripen on 
the tree, it ought to be removed, and deposited on 
the floor. The tree is remarkably fertile, and pro- 
duces fruit in seasons when almost every other 
pear kind has failed : hence it deserves to be rear- 
ed, even in climates and situations not very favoura- 
ble to orchards ; as it is of vigorous growth, and 
attains to tolerable size.'' 

21. Rousseline — "Is of a deep red colour, with 
spots of gray ; the flesh is very tender and deli- 
cate, and the juice very sweet, with an agreeable 
perfume. It ripens about the latter end of Octo- 
ber, but will not keep." 

22. Sarasin. — A valuable winter pear, "which 
ought to decorate every orchard, as it may be pre- 
served a whole year. In shape and size it resem- 
bles the brown Louise^ but generally becomes much 
larger. Its red colour rises on the south side : when 
it turns yellow in -Tuly, acquires a buttery consis- 
tence, and is then eatable. This likewise aifordsan 
excellent fruit for boiling, drying, and other domes- 
tick uses. The tree is tall and vigorous." 

23. Seckle pear. — In a letter from professor Ho- 
sack, of New York, dated October, 1818, to the 
London Horticultural Society, and published in their 
work, we are favoured with the following account 
of this most estimable fruit : 

" The Seckle pear is so named from Mr. Seckle, 
of Philadelphia, who has the credit of having first 
cultivated it in the vicinity of that city. It is gene- 
rally considered to be a native fruit of this coun- 
try, accidentally produced from seed sown by Mr. 
Seckle, and the original tree is said to be still stand- 
ing on the estate of that gentleman. An account, 
however, essentially different from this, has been 



190 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

lately communicated to me by my friend judge 
Wallace, of Burlington, to Avhom I recently paid a 
visit. He stated to me, on the autliority of a cor- 
respondent in Philadelphia, that the pear was gro^vn 
in that neighbourhood, sixty years ago, by a person 
named Jacob Weiss, who obtained the tree, with 
many others, at a settlement of Swedes, which was 
early established near Philadelphia, Avhere Mr. 
Weiss had built a house. The judge suggested 
the probability of Mr. Weiss and the father or 
grandfather of Mr. Seckle having been intimate, 
as both families were German, and of that rank in 
society, which might be likely to lead to such an 
acquaintance. The conjecture therefore, is, that 
under such circumstances, Mr. Seckle's family ob- 
tained grafts from Mr. Weiss's tree. 

" Mr. Coxe, in his view of the cultivation of fruit 
trees in America,' an interesting volume, which I 
have forwarded to the society, after assigning the 
same origin as I have stated in the beginning of 
this letter, describes the fruit thus : ' The form and 
appearance vary with aspect, age and cultivation : 
the size generally is small; the form regular, round 
at the blossom end, diminishing with a gentle oval 
towards the stem, which is rather short and thick : 
the skin is sometimes yellow, with a bright red 
cheek, and smooth; at other times, a perfect russet, 
without any blush : the flesh is melting, spicy, and 
most exquisitely and delicately flavoured. The 
time of ripening is from the end of August to the 
middle of October. The tree is singularly vigorous 
and beautiful, of great regularity of growth and 
richness of foliage, very hardy, possessing all the 
characteristicks of a new variety. Neither Ro- 
sier or De La Quintinge among the French, nor 
Miller or Forsyth among the English writers, de- 
scribe such a pear as the Seckle; nor have I found 
one among the intelligent French gentlemen in our 
country, who has any knowledge of it in his own.' 



OF FRUIT TREES. 191 

" I may add to the above, that the fruit is ad- 
mitted by all to be one of the most exquisitely 
and highly flavoured ^ye possess. Its flavour is 
very peculiar, having a factitious aromatick per- 
fume, rather than the natural odour or taste of 
fruits. The late general Moreau informed me that 
he had never tasted this fruit in France, the coun- 
try in which, of all others, the finest pears are cul- 
tivated." 

24. Skinless pear, or ewly ruselet. — This is a long 
shaped, reddish coloured fruit, with a very thin 
skin ; the flesii melting, and full of a rich sugary 
juice. It ripens in August. 

25. Squash pear. — This pear is cultivated in 
Massachusetts, and Mr. Coxe thus describes it. 
The fruit of highest estimation for perry in Eng- 
land ; it is an early pear, remarkable for the ten- 
derness of its flesh ; if it drops ripe from the tree, 
it bursts from the fall ; whence probably its name. 
The liquor made from it is pale, sweet, remarka- 
bly clear, and of strong body ; it bears a price four- 
fold of other perry. 

26. Saint Germain — Is a large, long pear, of a 
yellowish colour when ripe ; flesh melting, and very 
full of juice, with considerable flavour. If the tree 
be planted on a dry soil, in a warm situation, and 
trained against a wall, it bears pretty freely. There 
are two varieties, a spurious and the true; and it 
is believed,, the former is by much the more gene- 
rally disseminated. The true is of French origin, 
and often is very large, of a pyramidal form, having 
a thick and dotted green skin, but which, while ri- 
pening on the floor, becomes yellow. The spuriou,s 
fruit ripens in December, remainmg green when 
ripe, and generally decays by the end of January: 
unless the soil and season be favourable, it is insipid 
and watery ; it is shorter, and its form is subject 
to more variations than that of the true variety. 
The true St. Germain keeps in perfection till the 



192 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

end of March, and for sweetness and flavour, ranks 
among the very best of the winter pears. Mr. Coxe 
complains that this tree, in our cHmate, is very sub- 
ject to the fire blight, so destructive of the finest 
and most delicate pears in this country ; and ob- 
serves that it would be highly useful to the culti- 
vators of fruit could the cause or cure of this evil 
be discovered. 

26. Saint MichmVs, or yellow butter pear. — The 
same as the Doyenne, or Dean pear. For the rich- 
ness of its flesh, and excellence of flavour, it is 
said to be inferiour to none except the Seckle ; and 
few pears are more admired and extensively culti- 
vated in the United States. The fruit is large, 
round, inclining to oblong in shape, fair and hand- 
some; its skin glossy and smooth, resembling un- 
polished gold ; occasionally streaked and marked 
with bright yellow spots. It displays either a 
blush or bright russet on the south side. The flesh 
of this luscious fruit is white, and the juice so re- 
markably cold that it sometimes ofl*ends a weak 
stomach, and occasions eructations. It should be 
gathered before it is quite ripe, and matured in the 
house, in order to have it in true perfection ; and 
it may be in use from the beginning of September 
to the first part of November. The tree does not 
grow to a large size, but is an early and never fail- 
ing bearer. 

27. Summer good Christian — Is a large, oblong 
fruit, with a smooth and thin skin, of a whitish 
green colour, but red next the sun ; full of juice, 
and of a rich perfumed flavour. It ripens in Au- 
gust. The tree is large, and generally fruitful. 

28. Ij^irgouleuse. — " A delicious pear, of a pyra- 
midal form, with a deep bloom, and short fleshy 
stalk. Its peel is whitish green, and, if ripening on 
a floor, (from December to March,) generally ac- 
quires a fine yellow tint: its pulp melts in the 



OF FRUIT TREES. 193 

mouth, yielding a copious aromatick juice. The 
tree grows to a moderate height." 

29. Winter baking pear. — This fruit abounds in 
Massachusetts, and is much valued as a baking 
pear. It is not eatable in a raw state, not being 
juicy or well flavoured. It keeps well through the 
winter, and the flesh, on being baked, turns to a 
fine red colour. The tree is not large, but seldom 
fails of aflbrdlng an annual crop of fruit. 

30. Winter good Christian. — The fruit is very 
large ; the flesh is tender and breaking, and is very 
full of a rich sugared juice. The fruit is in eating 
from March to June. 

31. Winter thorn — (Epine d'hiver) — " In size 
and shape is similar to many kinds of egg-pears. 
Its peel is at first whitish gray, and turns yellow 
when ripening on the floor. The pulp is mellow, 
sweet, and of a delicious aromatick taste. This 
pear is fit to be eaten in November, and remains 
sound till the end of January. The tree vegetates 
with great luxuriance." 



QUINCE TREE. 

The quince may be propagated by layers, or 
young sprouts, which must be covered in the earth, 
or by cuttings taken from the tree in April, and set 
into the ground at proper distances, Avhere they will 
take root the first season, and they may be trans- 
planted at pleasure to the place of their ultimate 
destination. This tree may also be propagated by 
budding or grafting; and, according to Mr. For- 
syth, trees thus obtained will bear sooner and be 
more fruitful than those reared by any other me- 
thod. Quince trees flourish best, and are more 
productive in a moist soil, though the fruit from 
25 



194 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

those set in dry situations, is said to possess a finer 
flavour. The quince tree requires but very httle 
pruning; the nnost important part of their manage- 
ment consists in clearing their stems from suckers, 
and in cutting off such branches as interfere with 
each other. All luxuriant shoots that strike up 
from the middle of the tree, must be lopped off, 
to prevent the head from being too much crowded 
with wood, which might impede the growth of the 
fruit. If the tree becomes diseased or rotten, the 
dead parts should be cut away, and the composi- 
tion applied, as in apple trees. We are advised 
to plant quince trees at a good distance from apple 
and pear trees, lest the farina become mixed, and 
the fruits degenerate. The quince tree is liable 
to the attack of the worm horer^ the same as the 
apple and peach tree ; and the same remedies are 
to be recommended. 



OF PEACHES. 

The soil and climate of our southern and middle 
states are considered as peculiarly congenial to the 
growth of the peach tree, and, accordingly, it has 
long been more generally and extensively cultivat- 
ed there than in any other section of the union. 
It is reared on every plantation, and not unfre- 
quently peach orchards, covering many acres, and 
consisting of several thousand trees, are presented 
to the view of the traveller. It is, however, more 
for the purpose of distillery than the luxury of the 
table, that this species of fruit receives so much at- 
tention from our southern brethren; an excellent 
and highly-flavoured brandy being obtained from it 
by distillation. It is exceedingly to be regretted, 
that the peach tree of late years has become liable 



OP FRUIT TREES. 195 

to premature decaj, and the period of its duration 
is greatly diminished, insomuch, that its continuance 
in a healthy bearing state seldom exceeds three or 
four years. This misfortune is increased by the 
circumstance, that a peach orchard cannot be rear- 
ed a second time on the same spot, unless the soil 
be renovated by several years intermediate cul- 
ture of other crops. The soil best adapted to the 
peach tree is a mellow, sandy loam. Situations 
naturally wet, or inclining to clay, are unfavoura- 
ble. Water should never be suffered to stand 
round the roots of tender trees, especially in strong 
land, as it is apt to produce the mildew, and destroy 
them. 

In England, peach trees are planted against a 
wall, to which their branches are trained, and 
nailed either in the fan form, or nearly horizontal- 
ly, and being the subjects of particular care and 
culture, it is not uncommon for peach trees to con- 
tinue to produce annual crops during forty years. 

The propagation of peach trees is accomplished 
either by planting the stones or kernels, or by bud- 
ding on proper stocks. By the first method there 
is constantly a great tendency to deviate from the 
nature of the variety from which the seed was 
taken, and the variety may be almost indefinitely 
increased. In Maryland and Virginia, this last 
mode is adopted without budding, by which nume- 
rous varieties are obtained, and among them are 
found some of superiour quality. It, indeed, on 
some occasions happens, that the same fruit is pro- 
duced with that of the seed planted. The stones 
are planted in beds or drills, in October or Novem- 
ber, or they may be preserved in sand, and planted 
in March : in this case the stones must be broken 
open without injuring the kernel, which is the part 
to be planted. In one year the seedlings may be 
transplanted in rows into the nursery, which may 
be done either in autumn or spring. It is to be 



196 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

recollected, that neither the stones nor seedling 
trees should be planted on ground lately occupied 
by peach trees, unless the whole of the old roots 
be removed, and fresh mould be put In to supply 
the place of the old. But the most certain me- 
thod of preserving a particular variety is by bud- 
ding; peach trees thus obtained, always afford fruit 
in size, colour, and taste, exactly similar to that of 
the tree from which the bud was taken, and come 
sooner into a bearing state. Stocks, on which 
peaches may be budded, besides those of their 
own kind, are the almond, the apricot, and the 
plum. The proper season for budding, is the month 
of August, and the operation is to be .performed 
in the manner directed for apples and pears. In 
two or three years after budding, they bear fruit. 
In taking up the young trees, care must be taken to 
preserve the roots as much as possible. Such 
parts as are bruised should be removed, and the 
small roots may be a little shortened. It is impor- 
tant that the trees be equally filled with side 
shoots from top to bottom ; for when suffered to 
run up in single branches, the trees in general are 
so weak and spongy, that they are unable to bear 
good fruit. Accordingly, when the seedlings are 
about one year old, Mr. Forsyth recommends to 
head them down to five or six buds, or otherwise 
to cut off the extremities of the leading shoots, 
which will make them «end out side shoots, and 
form a handsome, fruitful tree. None of the shoots 
should be suffered to grow too long during the first 
and second years, which is easily prevented by 
pinching off the tops of them with the fingers dur- 
ing the month of June. When peach trees come 
into a bearing state, they produce two sorts of 
buds: where three stand close together, the two 
on each side are called flower or blossom buds, and 
the central one is called a wood bud. The former 
rise immediately from the eyes of the shoots, and 



OP FRUIT TREES. 197 

are round, short, and prominent, while the wood, 
or shoot buds are oblong, narrow, and flattish. 
Sometimes whole trees, or a large proportion of 
the branches, produce nothing but single flower 
buds, and in pruning, if a shoot be cut off at a single 
flower bud, the remains of it, as far down as the 
next wood bud, it is said, will surely die ; it must, 
therefore, be observed, as a rule, to cut just above 
the cluster of three buds, and the wood bud will 
shoot forth and become the leader, and be prepar- 
ed to produce fruit the next year. 

It is the practice of Mr. Forsyth, when old 
peach trees run up too high and thin, to cut them 
down as far back as he can find any shoots or buds, 
always leaving some young shoots or buds, other- 
wise there Avill be great risk of killing the tree. 
If there are a few young shoots, the top may with 
safety be cut off just above them, as they will lead 
the sap up, and produce strong branches, which 
should be topped, the same as a young tree. The 
operation should be performed in the month of 
May, and the young shoots will bear fruit the next 
season. The composition must be applied to the 
wounds, where the old branches are amputated, 
and the canker should be carefully cut out, and any 
part where the gum is seen to ooze, or the new 
wood will be affected as it begins to grow. When 
young trees are overloaded with fruit, it is abso- 
lutely necessary to thin them out while small, ac- 
cording to the strength of the tree. 

" The premature decay of peach trees has been 
ascribed to various causes; by some, to the dege- 
neracy of the soil, and neglecting to mature them 
regularly; by others, to the supposed alteration of 
the climate, the changes from heat to cold being 
more sudden and violent now than formerly, when 
the country was more in forest. But the true 
causes, as detailed by Dr. Mease, (Dom. Eucy.) 
seem to be the following." 



198 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

" Peach trees are liable to three casualties : 

" ]. The flj, that deposits eggs near the root, 
and there forms a worm. 

" 2. The bursting of the bark bj severe frosts in 
wet winters. 

" 3. The splitting off the limbs at the fork of the 
tree. 

" The fly, which is blue, (but not a wasp,) be- 
gins its attack about the middle of July, and con- 
tinues its depredations until the middle of Septem- 
ber. It wounds the tender part of the bark, and 
generally at the surface of the ground, there depo- 
siting its eggs, which hatch into worms, that prey 
upon the mucilage and tender part of the bark, 
until the communication between the root and the 
branches is cut off, causing the death of the tree. 
To guard against this, raise a little hillock in the 
month of June, round the tree, about a foot high, 
go as completely to cover that part of the bark 
kept moist and tender at the surface of the ground. 
This hillock will not stand so long at one height, as 
to tender the bark above, as the rain will gradually 
wash it down level with the surface, and must be 
raised again every summer." 

" To take out the worm, the roots must be un- 
covered, and the spot looked for where the gum 
oozes out, following the cavity round with the point 
of a knife, until you come to the solid wood, and 
lay the whole open: the worm will be found with 
a white body and black head; which must be de- 
stroyed, and the holes carefully filled up with cow- 
manure, rendered adhesive by sand or lime core and 
ashes, as directed by Forsyth. 

" Soap suds, heated after a family wash, and 
poured on the roots of trees, about the middle of 
August, have been used with success in destroying 
the eggs, or the young worm. 

" According to Mr. John^EUis, of New Jersey, the 
ihjury arising from the worm may be prevented in 
the following way : 



OP FRUIT TREES. 199 

" In the spring, when the blossoms are out, clear 
away the dirt so as to expose the root of the tree, 
to the depth of three inches; surround the tree 
with straw about three feet long, applied length- 
wise, so that it may have a covering, one inch 
thick, which extends to the bottom of the hole, 
the butt ends of the straw resting upon the ground 
at the bottom ; — bind this straw round the tree 
with three bands, one near the top, one at the mid- 
dle, and the third at the surface of the earth; then 
fill up the hole at the root with earth, and press it 
closely round the straw. When the white frosts 
appear, the straw should be removed, and the 
tree remain uncovered till the blossoms put out in 
the spring. 

" By this process, the fly is prevented from de- 
positing its egg within three feet of the root, and 
although it may place the egg above that distance, 
the worm travels so sIoav that it cannot reach the 
ground before frost, and therefore it is killed be- 
fore it is able to injure the tree. 

" The truth of the principle is proved by the 
following fact. I practised this method with a 
large number of peach trees, and they flourished 
remarkably well, without any appearance of inju- 
ry from the worm, for several years, when I was 
induced to discontinue the straw with about twenty 
of them. All those which are without the straw have 
declined, while the others, which have had the straw, 
continue as vigorous as every Thus far Mr. E. 

" To guard against frost, plant the trees where 
the water will run olf, and procure the sweetest 
and richest fruit, as the inferiour qualities are more 
injured by cold. 

" The splitting of the tree at the forks is guard- 
ed against by preserving as many upright branches 
as can be spared, by breaking off, in bearing years, 
more than half the quantity of fruit while small, 
and by pruning almost the whole of every branch 



200 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

beyond where the fruit is set, leaving only a few 
buds on each, of the succeeding year's fruit. The 
size of the fruit is by these means rendered larger, 
more beautiful, and of a higher flavour, and the 
growth of the tree is rendered more vigorous." 

" Mr. Thomas Coulter, of Bedford county, Penn- 
sylvania, gives the following directions for cultivat- 
ing peach trees, which he has successfully pursued 
in Pennsylvania and Delaware, for forty-five years. 
See Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. vol. v. 

" The principal causes of peach trees dying 
while young, are the planting, transplanting, and 
pruning the same stock ; which causes the stock to 
be open and tender, and the bark of the tree very 
rough ; this roughness of the bark gives opportu- 
nities to insects to lodge and breed in it ; and birds 
search after these insects, for their support, and 
with their sharp bills, wound the stock in many 
places; from which wound the sap of the tree is 
drawn out, which congeals, and never fails to kill, 
or to render the tree useless, in a few years. To 
prevent which, transplant your peach trees, as 
young as possible, where you mean them to stand; 
if in the kernel, so much the better ; because in 
that case there will be no check of growth, which 
always injures peach trees. Plant peach trees six- 
teen feet apart, both ways, except you would wish 
to take your wagon through the orchard to carry 
the peaches away ; in that case, give twenty-four 
feet distance to every fifth row, one way, after 
transplanting. You may plough and harrow 
amongst your peaches for two years, paying no 
regard to wounding or tearing them, so that you do 
not take them up by the roots. In the month of 
March, or April, in tiie third year after transplant- 
ing, cut them all off' by the ground; plough and har- 
row amongst them as before, taking special care 
not to wound or tear them in the smallest degree, 
letting all the sprouts or scions grow, that will 



OF FRUIT TREES. 201 

grow; cut none away, supposing six or more should 
come up from the old stump; the young scions will 
grow up to bearing trees on account of the roots 
being strong. Let no kind of beasts into peach 
orchards, hogs excepted^ for fear of wounding the 
trees ; as the least wound will greatly injure the 
tree, by draining away that substance which is the 
life thereof; although the tree may live many 
years, the produce is not so great, neither is the 
fruit so good. After the old stock is cut away, the 
third year after transplanting, the sprouts or scions 
will grow up all round the old stump, from four to 
six in number: no more will come to maturity than 
the old stump can support and nourish; the re- 
mainder Avill die before ever they bear fruit. 
These may be cut away, taking care not to wound 
any part of any stock, or the bark. The sprouts 
growing all round the old stump, when loaded with 
fruit, will bend, and rest on the ground in every 
direction, v/ithout injuring any of them, for many 
years, all of them being rooted in the ground as 
though they had been planted. The stocks will 
remain tough, and the bark smooth, for twenty 
years and upwards ; if any of the sprouts or trees 
from the old stump should happen to split off or 
die, cut them^away; they will be supplied from the 
ground by young trees, so that you will have trees 
from the same stump for one hundred years, as I 
believe. I now have trees thirty-six, twenty, ten, 
five, and down to one year old, all from the same 
stump. The young trees coming up, after any of 
the old trees split off or die, and arc cut away, will 
bear fruit the second year; but this fruit will not 
ripen so easily as the fruit on the old trees from 
the same stem. Three years after the trees are 
cut off by the ground, they will be sufficiently large 
and bushy to shade the ground, so as to prevent 
grass of any kind from matting or binding the sur- 
face, so as to injure the trees ; therefore, plough- 
26 



202 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ing is useless, as well as injurious; useless, because 
nothing can be raised in the orchard, by reason 
the trees will shade all the ground, or nearly so; 
injurious, because either the roots, stock, or bran- 
ches will be wounded : neither is it necessary ever 
to manure peach trees, as manured trees will always 
produce less and Avorse fruit than trees that are 
not manured ; although by manuring your peach 
trees, they will grow larger, and look greener and 
thicker in the boughs, and cause a thicker shade, 
yet on them will grow very little fruit, and that lit- 
tle will be of a very bad kind — generally looking 
as green as the leaves, even when ripe, and later 
than those that have never been manured.* 

" Peach trees never require a rich soil ; the 
poorer the soil, the better the fruit — a middling soil 
produces a more bountiful crop. 

" The highest ground, and the north side of hills 
is best for peach trees; they keep back vegeta- 
tion, by which means the fruit is often preserved 
from being killed by late frosts in the month of 
April, in the Pennsylvania latitude. I have made 
these observations from actual experience. 

" A gentleman from Monongahela county, in 
Virginia, called at my house, and asked me who 
instructed me to cultivate peach trees: I told him 
that observation and experience were my teachers. 
The gentleman observed, that colonel Luther Mar- 
tin, in the lower parts of Maryland, and another 
gentleman, near the same place, whose name he 
could not recollect, were pursuing the same plan 
advantageously." 

* '' This assertion is direclly contrary to the experience of a 
gentleman in New Jersey, who has remarkably fine peaches, 
regularly manures his trees every year, and asserts that the 
speedy decay of common peach trees is owing chieily to a neg- 
lect of the practice. He even said experience convinced him it 
was owing to the same circumstance, that peach stones did not, 
in general, produce fruit like the original tree. 



OF FRUIT TREES. 203 

"The practice of Mr. Coulter, in cutting down 
the trees, is highly rational : they are thus forced 
to spend their vigour upon their bodies and roots, 
instead of shooting up into the air with thin barks, 
which are easily penetrated by the fly. 

" The best kind of peaches is said to be produced 
from inoculation ; and upon an apricot stock, as they 
are not liable to be injured by the fly; and that 
peach trees thus produced, grow larger and rise 
higher than when on the peach stock. Grafting 
the peach upon a plum stock has also been practis- 
ed, with a view of resisting the attack of the fly ; 
but this operation must be performed under ground, 
otherwise an unsightly knob will be the conse- 
quence of the peach tree overgrowing the plum 
stock, and endanger the breaking ofl'of the tree at 
the place of junction. 

" The (directions given by Forsyth, with respect 
to wall p^ach trees, may be applied to our standard 
trees, viz. to pinch off" all the strong shoots in June, 
the first year the tree bears ; which will make them 
throw out side shoots : these, if not laid too thick, 
will make fine bearing wood for the succeeding year. 
If the strong shoots be suffered to grow to their 
fyll length, they will be large and spongy, and will 
neither produce good fruit nor good wood for the 
following year. Sometimes weakly trees are cover- 
ed with blossoms ; but if too much fruit be suffered 
to remain on them, they will be weakened so much 
that they will never recover. In that case, I would 
recommend picking off* the greater part of the fruit, 
to let the tree recover its strength. When trees 
in this state are pruned, never prune at a single 
fiower-hud ; as the shoot will be either entirely 
killed, or, at least, die as far as the next wood-bud. 

" I have often topped the strong shoots twice in 
the course of the summer, before they produced 
the fine kind-bearing wood. These strong shoots 
exhaust the tree, and never produce good wood, 



204 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

when neglected to be topped. I would recommend 
to cut out such shoots when the trees are pruned 
in the spring, and to leave only the bearing wood, 
which may be known by two small leaves, where 
the flower-buds will be in the following year; (the 
strong shoots having only one leaf bud at each eye ;) 
and to pick off all side shoots near the tops of the 
branches, as soon as they can laid hold of." 

In addition to the foregoing details, I must not 
omit to recommend in strong terms other means of 
preserving the health and vigour of this very valua- 
ble tree, the fruit of which, when in perfection, is 
perhaps equal, if not superiour to that most luscious 
of the tropical fruits, the ananas. Since it is ascer- 
tained that the fly deposits its eggs, which produce 
the fatal worm, in the bark, it is obvious that if the 
stem of the tree could be enveloped with some 
harmless substance, it might baffle the ^pstinctive 
faculties of the fly, or from its hardness,, resist its 
powers of attack. For this purpose, let the earth 
around the roots and stem be removed, and its 
place supplied with some one of the articles men- 
tioned in page 105 ; after which, let the whole trunk 
of the tree and large branches, from the surface of 
the earth to the top, receive a good coating of the 
composition of quicklime, cow-dung and clay, page 
105. This would not be a very expensive expedient 
even for an extensive orchard, and the preserva- 
tion of the trees would be an ample reward; but 
for a few favourite trees in the garden no person 
need hesitate to try the experiment, even upon 
young trees, at the time of transplanting. Should 
it fail as a preventive remedy against the fly and 
worm, (which is scarcely possible) the application 
will have a tendency to increase the grow^th and 
vigour of the tree. If in any of the uncovered 
branches black spots or oozing of gum should be 
discovered, let the branches be immediately cut 
away, and the wound covered with the same com- 



OF FRUIT TREES. 205 

position, and young shoots will soon sprout forth and 
bear fruit. When peach trees have become un- 
productive from old age or disease, Mr. Forsyth, 
from long experience, recommends to head ' them 
down according to rule, and apply the composition, 
by means of which, trees in the worst condition may 
be completely renovated, and rendered abundantly 
fruitful. Hitherto, the diseases of peach trees 
among us have eluded all our art and skill : how 
far a different management may prove successful, 
time and experience must determine. It may, 
however, well be questioned whether it is most 
profitable to renew our stock by frequently plant- 
mg the seed, or to attempt to protract the exis- 
tence of old unproductive trees by the application 
of remedies. For myself, I have closely inves- 
tigated the subject of canine madnesss in the hu- 
man species, and the desperate maladies among the 
peach trees, and am compelled to denounce them 
both as equally intricate and irremediable, and as 
equally meriting the appellation of opprobium me- 
dicorium. 

" A good peach possesses these qualities ; the 
flesh is firm ; the skin is thin, of a deep or bright 
red colour next the sun, and of a yellowish green 
in the shade ; the pulp is of a yellowish colour, full 
of highly flavoured juice; the fleshy part thick, 
and the stone small. They are generally divided 
mio J'ree stone and cling stone peaches. Those va- 
rieties, the flesh of which separates readily both 
from the skin and the stone, are the proper peaches 
of the French, and are by English gardeners term- 
ed free stones. Those with a firm flesh, to which 
both the skin and the stone adhere, are the pavies 
of the French, and by English and American gar- 
deners named cling stones. 



206 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



LIST OF CHOICE PEACHES, 

FROM MCMAHON's AMERICAN GARDENER. 

All the varieties, he observes, may be cultivated 
to advantage in every state of the union, if soil and 
exposure be given agreeable to their nature and 
necessities. 1. The Early Avant; 2. The White 
Nutmeg; 3. The Red Nutmeg; 4. Early Mig- 
nonne ; 5. Early Ann; 6. Early Newington; 7. 
Early Elizabeth-Town; 8. The White Magdalen; 
9. Red Clingstone ; 10. White Clingstone; 11. Ken- 
nedy's Caroline; 12. Royal George; 13. Oldmixon; 
14. Late Heath ; 15. La Plata ; 10. Georgia; 17. 
The Congress; 18. Bourdine ; 19. President ; 20. 
English Incomparable ; 21. Chancellor Rambouil- 
let ; 22. La Titon de Venus ; 23. La Pourprie ; 24. 
Belle Chevreuse ; 25. Noblesse ; 26. Bellegarde; 
27. Large Yellow Freestone; 28. White Pavie; 
29. Monstrous Pavie ; 30. Clifton's Nutmeg; 31. 
Lemon Peach; 32. Large Newington ; 33. Caro- 
lina Clingstone. 

1. Admirable peach. — A very large and comely 
fruit, of an agreeable mixture of colours. Its pulp, 
though rather firm, has a delicate taste, contains a 
sweet, vinous juice, of a fine flavour, and is pale 
red near the stone. It becomes eatable about the 
middle of September. 

2. Alberge, or orange peach — Is one of the most 
elegant and best flavoured of the clingstones ; ra- 
ther large than otherwise ; round ; dark red or 
purple next the sun, and bright orange on the other 
side ; being deeply furrowed from the stem to the 
blossom end : the flesh of a deep orange colour, 
but purple at the stone ; ripens in August. The tree 
is a very great bearer. 

3. Aune peachy or early Ann — Is a small, round 
fruit, of a yellowish white colour, faintly tinged with 



OF FRUIT TREES. 207 

red on the sunny side ; ripening about the middle 
of August. 

4. Bellegarde, or Galande, — This is a beautiful, 
large and excellent peach, with a strong tint of red 
on a yellow ground, and of a deep red shade on 
the south side. Its pulp, though rather iirni, yields 
a sweet juice, of an agreeable taste. Ripens in 
September. 

5. Blood Peach — Makes a beautiful preserve, 
and is cultivated chiefly for that purpose. The 
tree is hardy, and a great bearer. 

6. Boudine — Is a large, round fruit, of a fine red 
next the sun ; the flesh white, melting ; juice vi- 
nous and rich; ripens in September. The tree a 
plentiful bearer. 

7. Catharine. — A large, round fruit, of a dark red 
next the sun; the flesh white, melting; full of a 
rich juice ; a clingstone : ripens in October. 

8. Charlestown, or ananas peach — Is a new sort, 
reared in America from the kernel. Although its 
colour is inferiour to that of most other peaches, 
being a uniformly pale yellow, without any red 
tint, yet its firm and juicy pulp possesses the deli- 
cious flavour of the pine apple. It ripens in Octo- 
ber. 

9. Early JYewington — Is a fruit of middling size, 
of a fine red next the sun ; flesh firm, with a sugary, 
well flavoured juice. There are several varieties 
of this fruit, all clingstones ; ripening in August and 
September. '-^^ 

10. Heath peach. — Of all peaches, perhaps of all 
fruits, it is said, there is none equal in flavour to the 
American Heath peach, a clingstone. It is large, 
weighing near a pound, in common; with but mo- 
derate attention, it is believed, they would very 
generally weigh a full pound. It is backward in 
ripening, northward of the Susquehannah, and is 
generally one of the last sort that ripens. " This 
very fine clingstone peach is generally esteemed the 



208 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

finest in our country : the original stone was brought, 
by the late Mr. Daniel Heath, from the Mediter- 
ranean ; it has ever since been propagated from 
the stone, in Maryland, where I have seen it in 
great abundance and high perfection, as a natural 
fruit, in September and October. It is usually pro- 
pagated in this and the adjoining states by inocula- 
tion: I have for some years raised them from the 
stone, and have now a number of vigorous trees 
from stones, brought from Maryland. It is a very 
large fruit, of a form rather oblong, and uniformly 
terminating in a point at the head ; the flesh is sin- 
gularly rich, tender, melting and juicy ; the stone 
frequently opens, disclosing the kernel: the skin is 
a rich, cream-coloured white, sometimes with a 
faint blush, but the finest peaches are entirely white ; 
the juice is so abundant, as to make it difficult to 
eat this peach without injury to the clothes ; the 
leaf is luxuriant, and smooth at the edge ; the tree 
vigorous, hardy and long-lived, compared with other 
trees: the fruit ripens in September, lasts through 
the month of October, and is frequently eaten in 
high perfection in November. It is of all peaches, 
when not too ripe, the most admired, when pre- 
served in sugar or in brandy." (Coxe's Cultivation 
of Fruit Trees.) 

11. Large mignonne — Is somewhat oblong in 
shape, and generally swells out on one side. The 
juice is very sugary, and of high flavour. This 
is one of the most hafifisome and delicious fruits, of 
a dark red and greenish yellow cast; having a white, 
melting and agreeable pulp, containing a sweetish 
vinous juice, and is in eating about the middle of 
September. 

12. Lemon clingstone — Is a large, late, but beau- 
tiful and high flavoured peach. It ripens the last 
of September and beginning of October. 

13. Monstrous pavie. — This is the largest of the 
peaches, and a true ornament to the dessert, as it 



OP FRUIT TREES. 209 

displays a beautiful red tint on a white ground. Its 
pulp is white, though red in the parts next the 
stone, and contains a vinous, sweet juice. Ripens 
in September. 

14. JVoblesse — Is a large fruit, red or marbled 
next the sun; flesh greenish white, and melting; 
juice very rich in a favourable season. 

15. Old JVewington — Is a large round fruit, of a 
beautiful red next the sun ; the flesh white and 
melting ; when ripe, the juice very rich and vinous : 
a clingstone, and matured early in October. 

16. Ramhouillet — Is a fruit of middling size, deep- 
ly divided by a furrow ; the flesh melting, of a 
bright yellow colour; juice rich, and of a vinous 
flavour : ripens about the middle of September. 
The tree is a good bearer. 

17. Red rareripe — " Is a peach of uncommon ex- 
cellence, frequently called Morris's rareripe. It is 
of unusually large size, sometimes weighing eight 
and nine ounces ; of a round form, beautiful red and 
Avhite skin; rich, tender and melting flesh, full of 
sugary, highly flavoured juice; equal to any peach 
cultivated at the same season. Ripens in the early 
and middle parts of August. Clear at the stone." 
(Coxe.) 

18. Red magdalen. — It is large, round, and of a 
fine red next the sun; the juice very sugary, and of 
exquisite flavour : ripening in the end of August. 
The tree is a free grower, and a great bearer. 

19. Red nutmeg — Is a great bearer, and valued 
for its early maturity. It is of a bright vermilion 
colour, and has a fine musk taste. Ripens in Au- 
gust. 

20. Royal George — Is an excellent peach, and in 
a very good soil and aspect the fruit becomes large; 
dark red next the sun, juicy and high-flavoured. 

27 



2 10 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

21. Swalch. This is a fine, pleasant-flavoured 
peach. Ripens early in September. 

22. Teton de Venus — Is a fruit of middling size 
and longish shape; of a pale red next the sun; 
flesh melting, white; juice sugary, and not without 
flavour: ripens the end of September. The tree 
is a free bearer on a warm, light soil, but the fruit 
comes to perfection only in fine seasons. 

23. Vanguard — Is a good peach, ripens about the 
middle of September. 

24. White Magdalen. — The fruit is of a middle 
size, round, with a deep furrow ; of a pale colour, 
and the flesh white to the stone; melting, juicy, 
with considerable flavour. Ripening in August. 

25. White Rareripe, or " White cheek Malacotan 
peach — Sometimes called the freestone heath : is 
a fruit of uncommon excellence. The size is large ; 
the flesh a rich white, inclining to yellow, melting, 
rich, and finely-flavoured; firm, like the flesh of a 
clearstone plum : the skin is a pale yellowish white : 
the stone frequently separates on the opening of the 

Eeach, leaving the kernel exposed ; the shells ad- 
ering to the flesh, though a freestone. It is the 
most admired fruit of the season, which is in Au- 
gust." (Coxe.) 

The following fact has come to my knowledge 
since writing thp foregoing. 

" The cultivation of this tree has become very 
interesting to gardeners in the vicinity of this city, 
(New York.) A very simple mode of preserving 
and restoring them when apparently nearly destroy- 
ed by the disease so fatal to them in this quarter, 
and commonly called the " yellows," has been ac- 
cidentally discovered by a gentleman in this city. 
A statement of the fact as it occurred will convey 
all necessary information. In the fall of 1818, a very 
fine tree standing in his yard, was apparently dead 



OP FRUIT TREES. 211 

from the effects of the abovementloned disease. 
Throughout the fall and winter very large quantities 
of common wood ashes were casually thrown by the 
servants about the roots of the tree. To the as- 
tonishment of all who had seen it the preceding 
fall, it put forth its leaves vigorously the next sea- 
son, and bore abundance of fine fruit. A small quan- 
tity of wood ashes was again thrown round its roots 
last fall, and the tree has now become so full of fine 
fruit that it has become necessary to prop it up. 
This is a very simple remedy, and certamly worthy 
of trial. The foregoing paragraph is from Mr. 
Lang's gazette of this morning. A gentleman has 
since called upon us Avho has tried the same experi- 
ment with all the success he could have desired. 
He wishes us to recommend this simple method of 
preserving this valuable fruit tree to the publick, 
and he also suggests to the New York Agricultural 
Society the expediency of having printed handbills 
of the above article stuck up in all the markets, 
and given to every countryman who attends them, 
that the information may be as widely diffused as 
possible." (New York Com. Advertiser.) 

It may be further observed, that cherry trees 
and plum trees will be equally benefitted by the 
same application, and the practice ought to be gene- 
rally adopted. Tanner's bark put round peach and 
other fruit trees has been found by experience ex- 
ceedmgly useful. Ringing the branches of peach 
trees has proved beneficial. See page 29. 



212 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



CHERRIES. 



There are several native varieties of the cherry 
in the United States, which have been perpetuated 
from the seed, unaided by the hand of culture, and, 
as supposed, without any deviation from the ori- 
ginal stock. But the cultivated kinds are far more 
valuable, and it is greatly to be regretted, that 
they are so generally neglected. Many advan- 
tages would accrue to the farmer from the cultiva- 
tion of the cherry tree ; it would serve the useful 
purposes of ornament and shade to his orchard and 
buildings, and the fruit would afford his family not 
merely an innocent, but a salutary luxury ; and if 
near a market, the profit would remunerate him 
for all his labour and expense. 

The cultivated cherry, when reared from the 
seed, is much disposed to deviate from the variety 
of the original fruit, and, of course, they are pro- 
pagated by budding or grafting on cherry stocks ; 
budding is most generally preferred, as the tree is 
less apt to suffer from oozing of the gum than when 
grafted. The itocks are obtained by planting the 
seeds in a nursery, and the seedlings are afterwards 
transplanted. Those kinds which are called heart 
cherries are said to succeed best on the black ma- 
zard stock; but for the round kind, the Morello 
stocks are preferred, on account of their being the 
least subject to worms, or to cracks in the bark, 
from frost and heat of the sun. The whole method 
of management pertaining to cherry trees is 8o pre- 
cisely similar to that already detailed, when treat- 
ing of peach trees, that very little remains to bs 
said on the present occasion. But the following di- 
rections given by Forsyth, in his treatise on fruit 
trees, will probably be acceptable. 



OP FRUIT TREKS. 213 

" In the choosing and planting of young cherry 
trees, the same rules are to be observed that are 
given for apricots, peaches and nectarines; and 
they must in Hke manner be headed down the first 
year. 

" In pruning cherries never shorten their shoots ; 
for most of them produce their fruit at the extre- 
mities, the shortening or cutting off of which very 
frequently occasions the death of the shoot, at least 
of a great part of it. The branches, therefore, 
should be trained at full length. I have often seen 
the whole tree killed by injudicious pruning. Wher- 
ever the knife is applied, it is sure to bring on the 
gum, and afterwards the canker, which will inevita- 
bly kill the trees, if no remedy be applied to the 
wounds. I have headed down a great many cherry 
trees, which were almost past bearing, and so eaten 
up by the gum and canker, that the few cherries 
they bore were very bad. 

" In the years 1790 and 1791, I headed down 
fifty trees. The operation should be performed in 
the month of April in each year. These trees 
made shoots from three to five feet, the same sum- 
mer, bore fine cherries the next year, and have con- 
tinued to bear good crops ever since. 

" To the above trees I applied the composition. 
At the same time I cut down twelve trees in the 
same row, but did not apply the composition : these 
twelve trees all died in the second and third years 
after. One tree where the composition was appli- 
ed, now produces more fruit than the whole num- 
ber formerly, also much finer and larger. 

" When cherry trees are very old and much in- 
jured by large limbs having been cut or blown off 
(^which will bring on the canker and gum) the best 
way to bring them to have fine heads, and to fill the 
vacant space, is to heaxl them down as low as pos- 



214 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

sible, taking care to leave some small shoots, if 
there be any; if not, a bud or two at the end <X 
some of the shoots. Sometimes it is difficult to 
find any buds. In that case, before you mean to 
head the frees, make some incisions in the branches. 
This should be done on different branches, at the 
most convenient places for filling the tree with good 
wood. The size of the incisions should be from one 
to two inches, according to the size of the branches, 
observing to make them just above the joint, where 
the buds should come out. 

" The time for performing this operation, is 
March, April, or May. (In America, March.) 
The above method is only recommended where 
there are no young shoots or buds, and when the 
tree is in the last stage of the canker. 

" Where you find a few young shoots or buds, 
cut down the head as near to them as you can, and 
take care to cut out all the canker till you come to 
the sound bark. If any gum remains, it must be 
cut or scraped off: the best time for this is when 
it is moistened with rain; it may then be scraped 
off without bruising the bark. This operation is 
very necessary. 

" Wherever the bark or branches have been cut 
off, the edges should be rounded, and the composi- 
tion applied. If the young shoots are properly 
trained, they will produce fruit the following year; 
and in the second year they will produce more and 
finer fruit than a young tree which has been planted 
ten years. 

" Never make use of the knife in summer, if it be 
possible to avoid it, as the shoots die from the place 
where they are cut, leaving ugly dead stubs, which 
will infallibly bring on the canker. These shoots 
may be cut in the spring to about two eyes, which 
will form a number of flower-buds. 



OF FRUIT TREES. 215 

" When cherry trees begin to produce spurs, cut 
#ut every other shoot, to make the tree throw out 
fresh wood: when that comes into a bearing state, 
which will be in the following year, cut out the 
old branches that remain; by that method you 
will be able to keep the trees in a constant state 
of bearing, taking the same method as before di- 
rected with the lore right shoots. 

" Great care should be taken to rub off many of 
them in the month of May, (middle of June in Ame- 
rica,) leaving only such a number as you think will 
fill the tree. By so doing your trees will continue 
in a fine healthy state, and not be in the least weak- 
ened by bearing a plentiful crop of fruit. The rea- 
son is obvious; the great exhalation which would 
be occasioned by the sun and air in the common 
mode of pruning, is prevented by the composition 
keeping in the sap which nourishes the branches 
and fruit. I cut some trees, as directed above, 
more than twelve years ago, that are now in as good 
a state of bearing as they were in the third year 
after the operation, and likely to continue so for 
many years. 

" In 1797 I cut some very old trees in the month 
of May, which were left, to show the old method 
of pruning; I at the same time cut some branches 
off the same trees, according to the new method, 
to show the difference of the fruit, which was taken 
by all who saw it for a different sort of cherry. The 
cherries from the old spurs were not half the size 
of the others, and were at least three weeks later. 

" Several persons have adopted the new method 
with great success, and by renovating their old 
trees, which scarcely bore any fruit, have obtained 
from them an abundant quantity. But even the in- 
creased quantity of the fruit is not so material, in 
cherries, as the increase in the size and in the rich- 



216 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 

ness of the flavour. In this respect the method of 
pruning here laid down is invaluable. When old 
standard cherry trees become decayed and hollow, I 
would recommend heading them down, as directed 
for wall trees and dwarfs. Scoop out all the rot- 
ten, loose, and decayed parts of the trunk, till you 
come to the solid wood, leaving the surface smooth; 
then use the composition as directed for fruit 
trees." 

"The following twenty are the principal cherries 
cultivated in the United States, the account of 
which was furnished by Mr. William Prince, of 
Long Island. (Dom. Ency.) 

''''May Duke — Ripe in May and June : long stem, 
round and red, an excellent cherry, and bears well. 

" Black heart — Ripe in June : a fine cherry. 

" White heart, or sugar cherry — Ripe in June : 
white and red. 

" Bleeding heart — Ripein June, a' very large cher- 
ry, of a long form, and dark colour ; it has a plea- 
sant taste. 

" Ox heart — Ripe in June ; a large, firm, fine cher- 

" Spanish heart — Ripe m June. 

" Carnation — Ripe in July : it takes its name from 
its colour, being red and white ; a large round 
cherry, but not very sweet. 

" Amber — Ripe in July. 

" Red heart — Do. 

" Late Duke — Do. 

" Cluster — Planted more for ornament or curiosity 
than any other purpose. 

" Double blossom — Ripe in July. 

" Honey cherry — Do. small sweet cherry. 

" Kentish cherry — Ripe in July. 

" Mazarine — Do. 



OF FRUIT TREES. 217 

" Morello — Ripe in July and, August : a red, acid 
cherry, the best for preserving, and for making 
cherry brandy. 

''''Early Richmond cherry. — This fruit originated 
near Richmond, in Virginia, and is the earliest cher- 
ry in America, and valuable on that account: it is 
the size of a May duke, and resembles it in form. 

" Red bigereau — A very fine cherry, ripe in July : 
of a heart shape. 

" White bigereau — Ripe in July and August : re- 
markably firm : heart shape. 

" Large double jiowering cherry. — This tree pro- 
duces no fruit, but makes a handsome appearance 
in the spring, when it is covered with clusters of 
double flowers as large as the cinnamon rose ; it 
diifers from the common double flowering cherry, 
which never forms a large tree, and has small point- 
ed leaves. 

" The three last were imported from Bourdeaux, 
in 1798. 

" Small Morello cherry — Called also Salem cher- 
ry, because it came originally from Salem county, 
New Jersey, is cultivated by Mr. Cooper of that 
state, who values it highly. The fruit has a lively 
acid taste. The tree produces abundantly, and is 
the least subject to worms of any cherry tree. 
- " Mr. C. says that the Bleeding Heart suits a 
sandy soil, but that the May Duke will not flourish 
in it." 

Besides the foregoing list, the black mazard, or 
natural cherry, with its several varieties, should be 
mentioned as excellent fruits, and valuable for being 
later than the others. They make very useful and 
hardy stocks for propagating other varieties. This 
fruit ripens in June or July, and is used by way of 
bounce in rum or brandy. Another native fruit is 
the common red cherry which abounds in New 
England. The fruit is not of a superiour quality, 
28 



218 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT TREES. 

being very acid, unless perfectly ripe : it might per- 
haps be improved by grafting and proper cultiva- 
tion. 

The wild, or native black cherry, of spontaneous 
growth, is deserving of some attention. The fruit, 
when infused in rum or brandy, imparts its astrin- 
gent and cordial qualities, and forms a pleasant and 
salutary liquor. The bark of the root of the tree 
is very astringent, and makes a useful stomachick 
bitter; and the wood is frequently employed by 
artists as a tolerable substitute for mahogany, being 
susceptible of a handsome polish. 

Cherry brandy is made in the following manner : 
Fill the cask with cherries; pour over them as 
much brandy as the cask will contain. When it 
has been on ten days, draw it off, and pour on hot 
water: let this remain sometime, shaking the cask 
frequently; then draw it off, and mix the last with 
the first liquor. 



INDEX. 



A . 

Apples, physical properties of . . 12 

particular varieties become extinct by age 18, 27 
new varieties, production of 18, 19, 20, 24, 27 

improved by grafting early and late on the 

same tree ... 36 

should be gathered by hand . .114 

how to ascertain when ripe . 114 

best method of preserving . 113,115 

juice of, when most dense, makes the best cider 141 



which yield toe best juice for cider 


142 


sweet entitled to preference 


13 


useful for a sick horse 


13 


fattening cattle 


13 


making molasses 


13 


different sorts of, in United States 


118 


American Pippin 


120 


American Nonpareil 


120 


Aunt's Apple 


120 


Autumn or Fall Pippin 


120 


Baldwin or Pecker Apple 


121 


Baltimore Apple 


121 


Black Apple 


121 


Bell Flower 


121 


Bow Apple 


121 


Brownite 


121 


Bullock's Pippin 


122 


Campfield 


122 


Cathead . . . 


122 


Catline 


122 


Carthouse 


. 122 


Cider Apple 


123 


Codling . . . - 


123 


Corlies' Sweet . . 


123 


Cooper's Russeting 


124 


Flat Sweeting 


124 


Gloucester White 


124 


Golden Pippin 


125 


Golden Rennet 


. 125 


Green Everlasting 


125 


Green Newton Pippin 


. 125 


Grey house 


126 


HagloeCrab 


, 126 


Harrison Apple . 


127 


Harty Sweeting 


. 128 


High Top Sweeting 


128 



220 



INDEX. 



Apples, Holmes Apple 


. 128 


Jlolten Sweeting 


128 


Huglies's Virginia Crab 


. 129 


Lixciy Apple 


129 


Lady Finger 


. 129 


Large Red and Green Sweeting 


129 


Large Early Harvest 


. 129 


Loring Sweeting 


129 


Large Yellow Newark Pippin . 


. 130 


Maiden's Blush . 


130 


Michael Henry • 


. 130 


Monstrous Pippin 


131 


Morgan Apple 


. 131 


Newark King Apple 


131 


Nonsuch 


. 131 


Nursery Apple . . 


131 


Pearmain . . ' . 


. 131 


Pennock's Red Winter 


132 


Pcveshon 


. 132 


Pound Apple 


132 


Priestly 


. 132 


Queen Apple 


133 


Quince Apple 


. 132 


Rariton Sweeting 


133 


Red Everlasting 


. 133 


Redling 


133 


Red Streak 


. 133 


Ranibo 


134 


Roan's White Crab 


. 134 


Rhode Island Greening 


134 


^ Roman Stem 


. 135 


Royal I'earmain 


135 


Royal Russet 


. 135 


. Roxbury Russeting 


136 


Ruckman's Pearmain 


. 136 


. Seek no further 


136 


Spitszenburgh 


. 137 


. Spice Apple 


137 


Styre 


. 137 


. Summer Pearmain 


138 


Swaar Apple 


. 138 


. Sweet (ireening , 


138 


Tolman Sweeting 


. 139 


Vandeverc 


139 


Vanwinkle 


. 139 


Wine Apple 


140 


Wine Sap 


. 140 


Yellow Sweeting 


140 


Apple Trees, soil and climate of the United S 


tates 


adapted to . , 


9 


original stock of 


15 


native crab 


15 


do not enjoy indefinite longevity 


18 


cultivated or seedling stocks 


16 


reared from seed seldom produc 


e the 


same kind of fruit 


16, 18, 24 


best adapted soil for 


17 



INDEX. 221 

Apple Trees, in certain places some Tjinds succeed 

better than others . . 17 

may be forced to bear fruit . 28 

instance of one bearing fruit of opposite 

qualities . . 22 
those which produce good fruit should 
not be suffered to grow near those 
which produce bad fruit . 21 
will not fleurish where old ones have died 54 
should not be planted deep in the soil 52 
heading down old ones, utility of 69 
of spontaneous growth, produce tolera- 
ble crops . . 59 
injured by bearing. too abundantly . 58 
cultivated successfully in unfavourable 

situations . . .60 

when young, should be headed do^vn 45 

annual wash for . . 73 

disbarked . . 80 

hide-bound, how treated . . 75 

means of preserving the health and 

vigour of . . .73 

washing of, with soft soap . 74 

clay-paint recommended for . 74 

diseases of. Sic. which render them 

unproductive . . 76 

B 

Bark of Apple Trees, torn off by field mice, remedied 81 

cracks when hide bound . 75 

scaly, should be scraped off 80 

injured by exposure to the sun 75 

Blight . . . . .76 

Blossoms, of different trees intermix and change the 

quality of the fruit . . 21 

injured bv spring frosts . . 82 

'black flies . . 83 

Borer, (see worm.) 

Brandy, made from apples , . .177 

peaches by distillation . 194 

Brush for destroying caterpillar's nests . . 97 

Buds, description of . . . 40 

Budding, observations on . . .40 

proper season for . . 40 

different modes of . . . 41, 43 

• of peach trees preferable to grafting . 199 

composition to be used in . .43 



Canker .... 78 

remedies for ... 79 

Canker Worm, character and description of . 84 

history of, by Professor Peck . 84 

various remedies for . . 85, 95 

directions for tarring . . 86 

proposed remedy by Professor Peck 84 

Mr. Kenrick . 89 

observations on, by J. Lowell, Esq. 91 



222 



INDEX. 



Cherry Worm, lime the most eligible remedy . 94 

flax rubbish and sea weed proposed 94 
Dr. Dean recommends to destroy them 

through the agency of swine . 94 

Caterpillars . ... 95 

disgraceful to farmers . ,95 

description of . . 96 

methods of destroying . 96 — 100 

brush for destroying . . 97 

Cherries, . . . 211 

method of propagating . . 212 

treatment by Forsyth . 212 

list of . . . .213 

Mav Duke . . . 215 

Black Heart . . .215 

White Heart ... 215 

Bleeding Heart . . .216 

Ox Heart ... 216 

Spanibh Heart . . .216 

Carnation . . .216 

Amber . . . .216 

Red Heart . . . 216 

Late Duke . . . 216 

Cluster . . .216 

Double Blossom . . . 216 

Honey Cherry . . .216 

Kentish Cherry . ■ . .216 

Mazarine . . . 216 

Morello . . . .216 

Early Richmond Cherry . . 216 

Red Bigereau . . .216 

White Bigereau . . 216 

Large Double Flowering Cherry . 216 

Small Morello Cherry . . 216 

Black Mazard . . . 217 

Wild or Native Black Cherry . 217 

Cherry Brandy . . •' . .217 

Cider • • • .141 

apples which yield the best juice for . 142 

making and managing . . 141 

proper casks for, and how kept sweet 

and clean . . . 144,153 

fining with isinglass . . 148,151 

method of making and fining by Jos. Cooper, Esq, 155 

observations on by J Lowell, Esq. . 158 

concise rules for making and managing . 148 

stumming of casks for . . 171 

bottling . . . .148 

medicinal properties of . . 177 

Cider Wine . . . .177 

Clover, said to be injurious to orchards . 55 

Compositions to be applied to wounds in pruning, in 

grafting, in budding, in canker, and in heading down 64, 69 

Curculio,"account of by Dr. Tilton . . 109 

D 

Decortication, or disbarking fruit trees . 80 

Directions for making and applying Forsyth's composition 69 



INDEX. 



223 



Engrafting, the art not traced to its origin . 32 

introduced into America by Mr. Prince 33 

proper season for . . 35 

stocks for grafting should be of the same 

genus and natural family with the scion 33 
choice of scions for £:rafting . 33 

when scions should be taken & how preserved 34 
scions should not be taken from seedling trees 34 



winter fruit should not be gra 

summer stock 
modes of grafting 
whip-gra(ting . 

tongue-grafting 
cleft- grafting 
crown-grafting 
side-grafting 
root-grafting . 
new mode of grafting 
extreme branch graftin 
clay used in grafting 
Engrafted fruits not permanent 



ted on a 



33 
36 
37 
37 
37 
38 
38 
38 
39 
39 
36 
23 



Flax shaws useful when applied round fruit trees , 58 
Fruit, directions for picking and preserving . 1 13, 115 



I 



Inoculation, {see budding.) 



Lice infesting young orchards in Maine . 107 

M 

Manuring fruit trees, utility of . .56 
instance of resuscitating an old apple tree by 56 

best kinds of manure . . 56 

must not be carried to excess , . 57 

Means of preventing flowers and fruit falling off, and 

of retarding their opening . . .75 

Moss and scaly bark on trees . . go 

N 

Nursery . . . , .30 

soil and situation for . 30 

method of planting apple seeds in . 31 

Nursery pruning ... 44 

Observations on Forsyth's treatise, by Mr. Yates . 72 

Mr. Cobbett 71 



O 

Orchard, planting and culture . 

most eligible soil and situation for 
northern exposure preferable for 
preparation of the land and planting 



46 
46 
47 
60 



224 



IIVDEX. 



Orchard, proper season for planting . . 50 

may be established in unpromising situations 60 

proper distance for planting trees in . 49 

ground should he cultivated . . 56 

trees, should be planted in straight rows 48 

inclining towards the east . 48 

directions for planting, by Marshall 52 

Orchard Pruning . . .61 

former errours in . . 62 

proper season for, when the sap is 

in active circulation • 64 
regard must be had to soil and climate 65 

observations on, by Mr. Marshall 67 

Mr. Yates 62 

composition should be applied 65 

never suffer a sucker to grow 66 

Orchard and Cider establishment of \Vm. Coxe, esquire 1 18 



Peaches . . . .194 

method of propagating . . 1 95 

may be budded or grafted on other stocks 196, 203 

qualities of . . • 205 

excellent brandy made from . .194 

divided into freestones and clingstones 205 

lists of . . . .206 

Admirable Peach . • 206 

Alberge . . . .206 

Aune or Early Ann • . 206 

Bellegarde . . . 207 
Blood Peach . . .207 
Bowdine .... 207 
Catharine . . .207 

Charlestown . . .207 

Early Newington . . 207 

Heath . . . .207 

Large Mignonne . . 908 

Lemon Clingstone . . . 208 

Monstrous Pavie . . 208 

Noblesse . . .209 

Old Newington . . 209 

Rambouillet . . .209 
Red Rareripe . . .209 

Red Magdalen . . .209 

Red Nutmeg ... 209 

Royal George . . .209 

Swalch » . . . 209 

Teton de Venus . . .210 

Vanguard . . . 210 

White Magdalen . . .210 

White Rareripe . . 210 

Peach Trees, liable to premature decay . 195 
cannot be reared a second time in the 

same place . .195 

method of treating, by Forsyth 196, 203 

causes of the decay of . . 197 

fly aud worm which attack them 198 



INDEX. 



225 



Peach Trees, method of preventing injury from the 

fly and worm . 198, 204 



Pears, 



directiou.a for cultivating; 
diseases of, elude our art and skill 
ringing of 



list of 

Brockholst Bergamot 

Brown Beurre 

Catharine Pear 

Chaumontelle 

Colmart 

Crassane 

Easter Bergamot . 

Garden Pear 

German Muscadell 

Green Summer Sugar Fear 

Grey butter Pear 

White Butter Pear 

Jargonelle 

Little Muscat 

Mons Jean 

Orange Pear 

Pound Pear 

Nonpareil Bergamot 

Prince's Pear 

Radish Pear 

Rousseline 

Sarasin 

Seckle Pear 

Skinless Pear 

Squash Pear 

Saint Germain 

Saint Michaels 

Summer Good Cliristian 

Virgouleuse 

Winter Baking Pear 
Good Christian 
Thorn 
Pear Trees are well adapted to the soil and climate 

of New England . .180 

may be grafted on a quince stock 33, 180 

propagation of particular varieties of, 

by grafting or budding 180 

attention necessttry in the choice of stocks 180 
never employ suckers for stocks 180 

never graft a winter pear on a summer stock 1 80 
much benefited by washing with soft soap 181 
require but little pruning . .181 

when defective, should be headed down 182 
method of treating decayed pear trees, 

by Forsyth . . 182 

method of reclaiming unproductive pear 

trees, by Mr. Knight . 184 

extraordinary produce after heading down 182 

185 
. 177 



200 
205 
29 
180 
186 
186 
186 
186 
186 
186 
186 
186 
187 
187 
187 
187 
187 
187 
187 
188 
188 
188 
188 
188 
189 
189 
189 
189 
191 
191 
191 
192 
192 
192 
193 
193 
193 



Perry 
Pomona Wine 



29 



226 



INDEX. 



Q 



Quince 



193 



Sap, theory of the circulation of 
Seaweed, applied to fruit trees .useful 
Seedling I'rees, Imw to be treated 
Scions, when to be taken from the tree 

how preserved . . 

importiim e of a proper choice of 
Slug Worm, description of 

remedy for 
Suckers sliould never be suffered to grow 
improper for stocks to graft on 



29 
58 
31 
34 
34 
34 
106 
107 
66 
3G 



Tanners' Bark, utility of 



211 



W 

Wine, made from cider . . 179 

Pomona .... 177 

Worm called the Borer . , 100 

n:iefLod of destroying . . 101 

report of the committee in favour of 

Mr. Heursey's aicthcd . 102 

method proposed to prevent its attack 104 



